Tour of Duty
by Rita Arabella Black
Summary: Young Lt. Christine Chapel has only been aboard the Enterprise for a week and she has already made a lasting impression. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1 How I met the Captain

_Based on characters created by Gene Roddenberry & Paramount._

Chapter 1—How I met the Captain

"Lieutenant Chapel!" the voice penetrated the blackness. Was I dead? I tried opening my eyes, but there was nothing but smoke and darkness. I felt the warm stickiness ooze out from my leg and felt nothing. I was being shaken and ordered to wake up. No! It felt too good to be asleep. Go away, I'm drifting off. The last thing I remember seeing was the face of Dr. McCoy looking at me. I smiled weakly.

"Too bad I'm dead," I whispered and reached for his face. "I've always loved you."

The next thing I remember was excruciating pain. I cried out once as my leg felt like it was being ripped off. I held on to the first thing that was I reached. It was a hand.

"Christine," the familiar voice rang in my ears. There he was again. His beautiful face was looking down at me. His eyebrows were drawn together in a look of concern. "The pain's going to stop in a second, I promise you, we have to wrench your knee back in place. Hold on, okay?"

"Okay," I murmured through gritted teeth. I held on to his hand, squeezing it hard. He grunted once but let me hold on. "Mother fucker!" I yelled.

When the Enterprise was attacked, the shields held but there was residual damage to sick bay and engineering. A heavy imaging device had been knocked loose and landed on my leg, dislocating my knee and making a large cut to the femoral artery. Bleeding to death was a lot less painful, I thought, than having someone "relocate" my knee cap.

I was pumped up with a wide variety of pain killers after my knee cap was snapped into place. Apparently holding me down was the worse part since I managed to break a poor corpsman's nose. "Cocksucking son of a bitch," I continued until the pain disappeared.

The hole in my leg had already been repaired, but there blood all over the place, including the walls and ceiling and splattered over the equipment. I felt dizzy and nauseated. I sat up threw up all over the good doctor. "Sorry," I muttered before passing out again.

After having only been on board the ship for a week, I was making one hell of an impression on the doctor I had inadvertently professed my undying love. I was much too embarrassed to open my eyes again. Time had passed, how long, I wasn't certain; the sickbay smelled like welding and I heard voices and sounds of power tools. I squinted and peered out, hoping the chief medical officer wasn't staring at me. There were a couple of corpsmen twittering about and the folks from maintenance and construction engineers fixing the parts that had fallen during the attack. The bunks were full of the injured; most of them far worse than I. I started to get up, but a hand held me down. It wasn't Dr. McCoy, so I relaxed a little. I squinted again trying to get everything back into focus.

"Okay asshole," I said. "May I _please_ get up?" I started to fling the hand off my chest, but the face came into focus. "Oh shit," I said. "Sorry Captain."

The ship's captain, James T. Kirk was standing over me, holding me down. And I had just cursed at him. Well, fuck me; this was going to be the shortest naval career in the history of Star Fleet Command; and a Chapel had served continuously in one form or another since the American Revolution in the 18th century.

"Sorry, lieutenant, there was a cable over head and I was afraid you were going to get strangled on it. How are you, by the way? Dr. McCoy told me you got a nasty bump on your head as well as your other injuries."

"Apparently suffering from Tourette's Syndrome, sir, brought on no doubt by the blow to the head," I managed weakly.

The captain laughed He had a pleasant laugh. This was the first time I'd seen him since I'd arrived on the Enterprise. He certainly was handsome, just like he was described to me by the other nurses on board. He was also very young to be a star ship commander.

He pushed the cable away and helped me sit up. "There you go," he said.

"Thank you, Captain," I said.

"Call me Jim. And you are Christy, right?" he asked.

"Christine," I corrected. The last time I was called Christy I was thirteen years old and had a crush on a boy named Nicky.

"Forgive me, _Christine._" He bowed his head. "So, how do you like the Enterprise?"

"Magnificent ship, sir, er, Jim. It's an honor to serve on her."

Jim grinned again. "I knew there was something I liked about you."

I blushed. "I'm ready to go back to work," I said unnecessarily. So much for small talk.

"Since I'm not the ship's doctor, I'm afraid I can't release you" He looked around. "Ah, Bones," he called. "Your young lieutenant is up and about and ready to go back to work."

Dr. McCoy looked surly. I'm sure he didn't appreciate having me described as 'his' lieutenant. "Sure," he said sarcastically. "Go ahead, get up and then fall on your face putting yourself out of commission for another three days. No problem."

"I'm feeling fine, doctor. I know you can use my help."

"Since you're the only nurse aboard the whole ship, how could I possibly manage without you?"

That was uncalled for. I blushed deeper. I knew the smart thing was to hold my tongue, nod and say yes sir, but that's really never been my style. "Since I'm the _best_ nurse aboard, you'd do well to release me for duty since it looks to me you can use my help. That is, if you want things done right."

The captain snorted then looked around innocently. He was desperately trying to not laugh because Dr. McCoy's expression was absolutely comical. Apparently none of the medical staff had ever talked back to him before. Now I knew I was a goner.

"I like her," Jim said, slapping Dr. McCoy on the back. "Better put her back to work. She looks like a worse patient than you." He looked at me. "And he is the absolute worst."

"Thank you, Captain," McCoy said sarcastically, "for running sick bay for me. I guess now you want a medical degree, since you know so damn much about medicine."

Jim threw his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, Christine, he's this surly to everyone. Don't let it bother you. Oh, and I'd be honored if you'd join me for dinner tonight. That is if the good doctor will release you."

I avoided looking at Dr. McCoy. "Thank you, sir. It would be an honor."

This time it was Dr. McCoy's turn to snort.


	2. Chapter 2 Dinner with the Swells

**A/N: For Selene the Slytherin, thanks.--Rita**

Chapter 2—Dinner with the Swells

Dinner at the captain's table was one of the highest honor bestowed on junior officers aboard a ship. Of course I sat at the farthest end of the table, but I got a good view of the captain and his first officer, Commander Spock. My roommate Selene worked with Mr. Spock and she didn't get him at all. He was half Vulcan, but his mother was from Earth. He sat next to the captain, not cracking a smile or speaking unless he was addressed. He looked like his underwear was too tight.

The chief engineering officer, Commander Scott sat across from Dr. McCoy and he drank throughout the meal. I liked him. He was loud and he laughed a lot. Dr. McCoy, kept looking at me with an expression I couldn't define. I think it was a cross between, 'die, bitch, die' and 'I want you to have my children'. Well, maybe not the second part, but when he smiled, I got all fluttery inside. And he did smile. I think Spock annoyed him more than anyone else. He took the gentle chiding from the captain with great finesse and gave as good as he got. I couldn't hear a lot of what they were saying because the ensign sitting next to me wouldn't shut up.

After desserts were served, I started to get up and go back to my room, but the captain stopped me.

"Christine," he called loudly. "Come up here and join the old folks."

The ensign who was explaining the traditions of the captain's table and the smoking lamp, stopped midsentence and looked at me with the saddest look on his face. I slapped him on the shoulder and winked at him.

"Next time, buddy," I said, as I took my bottle of Kirin™ Beer to the front of the room.

"You know everyone don't you?" he asked.

I nodded. Of course I did, they were the field officers and I was just a lowly junior grade lieutenant. Commander Spock rose and excused himself. Jim motioned for me to sit in his place, right next to Dr. McCoy. I kept my head pointed forward away from Dr. McCoy's soured look. He drank a lot, too. I just noticed that.

After a while, everyone more or less forgot that I was there until the cigars were passed around. Of course I took the cigar when offered. Everyone else had one, so why not? Everyone lit up, including me and the table relaxed even more.

"Jim," McCoy said, blowing smoke away from the table. "What did my lieutenant call you this afternoon?" Was the man smiling?

Jim burst out laughing. "I think it was 'asshole', wasn't it Christine?"

I turned the color of the end of my cigar. I thought the chief engineer was going to choke on his Scotch. He pounded the table. Okay, now I knew why I was there. Christine, the entertainment for the evening. _Ha, ha, I called the ship's commander an asshole. Wasn't that funny? _

"Kind of keeps you humble, eh, Scotty?" Jim was saying.

Mr. Scott nodded and continued to drink. He held his glass up in a toast. "To Christine!"

The other officers, including the captain, raised their glasses in a toast, "To Christine," they followed.

I was sure I had turned about as many shades of red as was humanly possible, I decided, 'what the fuck' and sat back and enjoyed the party. Every officer went around the table and made another toast; they were traditional toasts from 'to Star Fleet Command', 'United Federation of Planets', 'to the Enterprise (Scott did that one), the greatest ship in the fleet'. When it came my turn to offer a toast, I raised my glass and said, "To our fallen comrades."

"To our fallen comrades," they repeated dutifully.

The mood sobered a bit; although no one was killed today, there had been several critical injuries. Jim looked at me and nodded; he had an odd smile on his face and I saw him give the quickest glance to the good doctor. I had no idea what it meant, but I was convinced it was significant.

We had apparently run out of toasts, so everyone was getting up and starting to leave. I hadn't really had a chance to talk to the captain during dinner alone, but he strolled up to me as I was leaving.

"I'm glad you came, Christine. You livened up the party quite a bit," he said.

"Until the buzz kill toast," I said. "Yeah, I was the life of the party."

He laughed again. "But you know your traditions," he said. "I'm impressed. You'll come again?"

"Absolutely, sir," I smiled at him. "Anything to entertain the troops."

Dr. McCoy was standing by the door talking to Mr. Scott. He kept looking at me, and as usual, he looked mad. He wrinkled his brow in an annoyed way when Jim put his hand on my shoulder and laughed. He was kind of playing with my hair, and quite frankly, I was flattered.

Under normal situations (as in I wasn't a junior grade lieutenant and he wasn't a captain) I thought he was going to ask me out on a real date. He kept touching my hair, like he wanted to say something else.

"I enjoyed this evening," I said.

"Even the ribbing?" he asked playfully.

I grinned and nodded. "Sure. I'm a big girl, I can take it."

"Uh, Christine," he began, looking around him for a moment. "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? Just the two of us?"

I was taken aback. He really was asking me out on a date.

"S-sure," I said. "I'd love to."

He let out the breath he seemed to be holding and smiled. "Great. I'll come by your cabin tomorrow evening. Nine o'clock."

I nodded dumbly. _Oh my gosh_, I thought. _I have a date with the captain._

Jim looked up at McCoy with a sly smile across his face. "You don't mind, do you, that I'm taking out your lieutenant?"

I didn't hear his response, if he had one.

"Christine!" My roommate Selene, a pretty young ensign from San Francisco, was waiting for me when I returned to our room. Selene was very smart, kind of a tom boy and I called her, "mom" because of the way she worried about me. "I made brownies! How was dinner with the captain?"

"Dinner at the captain's table," I corrected. "It was interesting. I was sitting there with all the swells and they were just normal people; well, except Commander Spock, anyway. "

"Was Lieutenant Sulu there?" she asked casually, nibbling on a piece of chocolate.

Selene had the biggest crush on Mr. Sulu, the ship's helmsman, but she wouldn't admit it to anyone. He actually spoke to her one time; I think he said, "Excuse me," or something like that and I didn't hear the end of it for a week.

I shook my head. "I think he was on duty, but that young Russian guy was there. What's his name?"

"Chekhov," she said.

"That's right. God, he's a baby. Blushes a lot. Cute though." I took a brownie and started to undress.

Selene put the rest of the brownies away. "Are you coming to the gym with me?" she asked, after taking another bite of the brownie.

"Sure, I'll be ready in a minute. Oh, by the way," I said, waiting for the big moment. "I have a date with the captain tomorrow night." I said it in such a nonchalant manner that I didn't think she caught it until she screamed.


	3. Chapter 3 Belle of the Ball

Chapter 3—Belle of the Ball

I slept late and was late for work because Selene kept me up most of the night chattering away about my date with the captain. I was scheduled to work in the lab, away from everyone, so if I was a couple of minutes late, who would be the wiser? When I walked into the lab with a donut in my mouth and a cup of coffee in my hand, who should be sitting there pouring over the data that I had been working on since I arrived on the Enterprise, but the ship's chief medical officer. He looked up once when I came in and then did a double take, obviously having never seen a woman with a donut shoved in her mouth.

"You're late, Chapel," he said gruffly.

"Sorry, sir," I said. I couldn't even make up an excuse because without that first drink of coffee, my brain pretty much shuts down.

"How's your leg?" he asked, surprising me.

"Fine, sir. You do good work." I licked the sugar off my fingers and grabbed a towel and sanitizer and cleaned up the rest of my mess.

"I've been going over your figures, and it's good work." He hesitated. "Where was your last assignment?"

"The _USS Ronald Reagan_," I said, proudly.

"Why'd you request the _Enterprise_?"

I couldn't tell him that the only reason I wanted the transfer to the Enterprise was because I knew he was chief medical officer, and I wanted to work with the best.

"Oh you know," I hedged. "I just wanted to serve with the best." Well, that was the truth.

"Like Captain Kirk." It wasn't a question.

"Well, sure, Captain Kirk is one the best commanders in the fleet. It's an honor to serve under him." _That certainly didn't come out right._

"Hmm," he grunted. "Would you mind working in sick bay today? There are still some of the injured from yesterday's attack and I could use your help, since you're the best nurse and all." There was that little smile again, like it was a private joke.

"Of course, Doctor," I hesitated for a moment. I had never been on board a star ship that saw action before. The _Ronald Reagan _was an escort vessel for the most part, being upgraded to Constitution Class, like the _Enterprise_ and while she was being upgraded the crew was reassigned. I had my choice of assignments and I was thrilled when I was chosen for this assignment. Of the sixty-five medical officers who had requested the _Enterprise, _I was the only one picked. "Uh, sir," I said, "do you know who attacked us yesterday?"

There was that _smile_ again. "Pirates. They got a few lucky hits, but, it wasn't an enemy assault. Pirates have been raiding the cargo carriers in this region and we were asked to assist."

"Pirates? Cool," I said without thinking.

He laughed. "That's what Mr. Chekhov said".

Well, shit, Chekhov was what _twelve years old_? Of course he'd be excited about pirates.

"Was that your first action?" he asked, the grin still on his face.

I nodded. "Yes, sir. How many were injured?"

"Over a hundred minor injuries, and twenty seriously. Yours was one of the worst," he said.

"And here I am," I pointed out.

"And here you are." We stared at each other for a moment until he turned back to the report he was reading.

"Are you related to Dr. Richard Chapel?" he asked, not looking up from the report.

"He's my father. You know him?" I asked.

He shook his head. "But I've read his work. Brilliant scientist."

I beamed. I was very proud of my father; both my parents, actually. "I'll tell him you said that."

"And you," he continued, ignoring my comment.

Oh great, I thought here it comes. My parents are accomplished scientists and there's little 'ol me, a nurse. How'd that happen? I opened my mouth to respond when he continued.

"And you have a doctorate in Xenobiotic research."

I looked at him stunned. How did he know that? I signed up for Star Fleet Command as a registered nurse, because I wanted real hands-on work. My interest in xenobiotics was more like a hobby than my passion. I nodded. "And why didn't I go on to medical school?" I finished for him.

"Long story. Get me drunk some time and I'll tell you all about it," I said flippantly.

"I promise," he said. The cleared his throat and went back to his report.

The rest of the day was spent looking after the few injured who, for whatever reason, were confined to the sick bay. Most of them were broken bones or punctured lungs, and most were from engineering. The Chief Engineering Officer, Commander Scott came in around lunch time to check on his men. He grinned at me broadly when he saw me. It didn't appear that his evening drinking straight Scotch had any effect on him. If I had half what he drank the night before I'd still be retching over the toilet.

"How're my men doing?" he asked pleasantly.

"Commander Scott, how nice of you to come. I know it means a lot to them."

"Call me Scotty," he said.

I smiled at him shyly and gave him the truncated version. All were going to survive. Only two would be remaining in sick bay for another night.

"Excellent!" he said. "Excellent," he repeated. He looked like he had something else to say, but he didn't finish. I looked at him expectantly, and he looked down at the floor.

Finally, he looked up at me. "I know you're kind of with the Captain, but I was wonderin' if maybe sometime, you'd like to have a drink with me."

Where did _that_ come from? "Uh, I'm not _with_ the captain, we're just having dinner, and frankly, I'd love to have a drink with you."

He looked up at me and kind of blushed which I thought was endearing.

"All right then," he said. "Great. Great. Saturday night?"

I smiled. "Lovely."

Wow. All of a sudden I was becoming the most popular gal on the ship. Now, if the one person I really wanted to go out with me would notice me, I'd be in heaven.

"Well, aren't you the belle of the ball?" the voice behind me drawled sarcastically. It was Dr. McCoy leaning against the door frame to the research lab.

I turned around and smiled sweetly. "Yes, and you'd better hurry if you want your dance card punched," I said sassily, strolling back into the treatment room.

One thing you had to love about twenty-fifth century medicine was that it was practically leak proof. Gaping wounds were swiftly repaired and most operations were done without scalpel or opening the skin at all. I studied 19th and 20th century surgery and was appalled at what surgeons actually did to patients. All the patients lying in sick bay were on the mend and should be released within hours. Injuries and illnesses that would have been fatal three hundred years ago barely needed attention. _God, I loved healing._

I took a quick lunch in the hospital wing's charming dining room. Selene met me there for a quick bite, and was still obsessing over my date with Jim. She was really going to freak when I told her about my date with Mr. Scott.

She did freak out, of course, but she was happy for me. She thought it was interesting that the older officers were fighting over me. I just rolled my eyes. Older, my ass, and they certainly were _not_ fighting over me. I was just the shiny new toy. Nothing wrong with that.

I was afraid Dr. McCoy was going to make me work late to make up for my being four minutes late this morning, but my replacement showed even earlier than I'd expected and after I gave my report, I started for my room to get ready when I literally ran into the good doctor. He reached out and steadied me. His hands were warm on my cold skin. It felt nice.

"Christine," he said, "I had a question about a section in your report."

_You're kidding, right,_ I thought. _Now?_

He saw the expression on my face, and then looked up at the clock on the wall. "Sorry," he said, "I didn't know it was past five. No big deal, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

His brow crinkled again. "Absolutely. Have a good time." He walked away from me.

I made it back to my quarters in record time. I had to shower and shave my legs, because, well, you never know, and I obsessed over what to wear. Normally, I'm pretty calm and collected, but as the time ticked closer to the time he was supposed to pick me up, I was getting nervous. I tried on ten outfits before I settled on a simple yellow dress that brought out my eye color.

One thing you could say about the captain, he was punctual. Just as I sprayed the breath freshener in my mouth, and missed, by the way, hitting the cheek, there was a soft knock on the door. And there he was. He wasn't in uniform which kind of surprised me. He was wearing a blue short sleeve shirt, tucked in, and a pair of black slacks. The shirt was tight against his chest and I could tell he was very fit.

I understood why every straight woman aboard the Enterprise was enamored with him. His smile could melt the hardest heart. He was, without a doubt, one of the sexiest men I had ever seen.

We ate dinner in his quarters. He had a two bedroom apartment and it was decorated tastefully. He had a separate kitchen and dining room. I didn't think he cooked, but had the food delivered and served by the galley staff; a perk no doubt if you're captain.

He wanted to know about me, which I never felt comfortable talking about; but he asked me about my family, where I was from. When I said I was from Savannah, he told me Dr. McCoy was from Atlanta. Small world, wasn't it? I tried talking about him, but he managed to steer the conversation to me.

After dessert and drinks (he didn't offer me another cigar), he took me to a place on the ship I'd never been; the observation deck. He described it laughingly as 'lovers' lane' because most crewmen took their dates there to get a spectacular view of the universe. The view was breathtaking. I'd never seen anything like it before.

"Wow," I said, staring into infinity.

He was very close to me, pointing out galaxies. "Been there," he said as he pointed to over fifteen constellations.

I laughed and he touched my face, smoothing my hair away from my cheek. He hesitated for only a moment, and then his lips were on mine. It was very gentle, and he had a firm mouth; it was nice. If I had encouraged him, he would have deepened the kiss, but he seemed satisfied with the chaste kiss. He pulled away when I ended it and smiled at me. He seemed rather pleased with himself. He gave me a look I couldn't define, and he kissed me again, this time on my cheek.

He held my hand as he walked me back to my quarters. He kissed me again and then kissed my hand. "Thank you, Christine. I had a wonderful time."

"Me, too, and thank you." I had no idea what else to say.

Before he turned to leave, he said, "I'd like to take you out again." He actually sounded shy.

"Absolutely, I love to," I said. "Goodnight, Jim."

He turned and I watched him walk away before I went back into my room. Selene was on duty, thank God because I wasn't in the mood to reenact my date. I looked at the clock and it was ten thirty. The minute I slipped off my dress, I noticed the message light was blinking furiously on the communication device. There was a message from Dr. McCoy.


	4. Chapter 4 Humiliation 101

Chapter 4—Humiliation 101

_What the hell? _The light was blinking like crazy; I punched the communicator button and waited.

"McCoy," he answered testily.

"Dr. McCoy? You needed to talk to me?"

"Who is this?"

_You're kidding right?_ "It's Christine Chapel."

There was a hesitation. "Oh. It's late," he said crankily.

"Yes, sir. You called me; I was just calling you back."

More hesitation. He coughed. I waited. I wanted to find out what was so damn important that couldn't wait until the next day. "Sir?"

"Do you know what time it is? I'll talk to you tomorrow."

_Bullshit, _I thought. "Okay. Good-bye."

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a white sleeveless shirt. I finished buttoning my shirt as I walked down the hall headed toward the elevator. Punching the numbers, I hit the upper floor button and tapped my foot to the very odd music that was entertaining the riders as I rode up sixteen floors. By the time I reached the last floor, I wasn't sure what I was about to do was the smartest thing I'd ever done, but I was a little pissed off.

I found the right door, took a deep breath and knocked loud. No answer. Fine. I knocked harder. Finally the door slid open and there stood Leonard McCoy. His hair was mussed and he was only wearing pajama bottoms, which hung low on it hips. _Oh God, he was sexy._

I surprised him. Good. I stood there waiting for him to say something or slam the door in my face. He did neither. Finally, I crossed my hand over my chest. "May I come in?" I asked.

I honestly thought he was going to say no, but he stood aside while I passed by him.

I stood in the middle of his room with my arms still crossed, waiting for him to say anything.

"Oh," I said, "I'm going to hell anyway." I took a step to him and threw my arms around his neck and kissed the stuffing out of him. He put his hands on my waist and I thought he was going to push me away, but he held on to me, deepening the kiss. A moan escaped from deep in my throat and he held me tighter, then suddenly he did push me away.

"Lieutenant, what do you think you're doing?" he asked as he stepped away from me.

"Why did you call me when you knew I was going out with the captain?" I asked in a highly accusatory tone.

The confused look faded from his face. "I didn't call you. You were forty minutes late this morning, Yeoman Cartwright called you from sick bay, apparently after you left, and since I _am_ chief medical officer, naturally my name will pop up to identify the caller."

"Oh," was all I could say. "Well, good night, then." I turned around and headed for his door. I pushed the button to open the door, and it wouldn't fucking open. I punched the button over and over but it wouldn't move. I was getting more and more upset. All I wanted to do was get the hell out of there. I had humiliated myself beyond belief. I turned around to face him. He was _smiling_.

"Please open the door, Dr. McCoy," I said with as much dignity as I could muster.

"I don't think so," he said, still smiling. "You thought I …" He had the good grace not to laugh in my face.

My face was burning and tears were threatening.

"What _did _you think?" he asked.

"Dr. McCoy, please let me out." I swiped the tear that rolled down my cheek.

"Not until you tell me what you thought."

Now I was starting to get mad. Why didn't he let me leave? "Open the goddamn door," I yelled at.

He touched a button on the console and the door slid open. I didn't wait for him to say anything; I took off running the hall and into the elevator. I didn't slow down until I was outside my own door. I punched the security code and when the door opened, I ran inside and went straight into the lavatory where I sat down on the cold floor and covered my head with my hands, praying for death.

Okay, so the good doctor wasn't hopelessly in love with me and smitten with jealousy that I went out with the Captain and I had a date with Commander Scott. And I had totally humiliated myself by running to his quarters and demanding to know why he called me. Nice. Great. _Swell. _And then I kissed him. I touched my fingers to my lips. _My God, he was a good kisser. _And his body, it was lean and hard and I would have totally abandoned all my inhibitions if he had just…

Now I had to face him tomorrow morning. And I'm sure he had already enlightened the entire crew on what a complete moron I was. Maybe I could act like it never happened. Maybe we'll just laugh about it tomorrow. Yeah, and maybe I'll become the supreme commander of Star Fleet.

Selene came home and found me in the head. I had fallen asleep and I'd drooled in my hair. She was too full of her Sulu to even ask me how the date with the captain went. Apparently Mr. Sulu ran into her and steadied her or something equally silly. He touched her breast, accidently, of course, and he blushed. Selene said she acted all haughty with him; the poor man is never going to realize that Selene would dump out off the bridge head first just to get him to notice her. Talk about mixed messages.

Finally, she asked, "How'd your date with the captain go?"

I nodded. "It was nice. We ate in his quarters and he took me to observation deck. It was very romantic."

"Did he kiss you?" she asked.

"Selene," I said appalled.

She looked at me and grinned and I grinned and nodded. She thumped me hard on my arm. "Way to go,"

It was much too late for me to be awake, but Selene was still charged up. She could have talked all night about Sulu and my date with the captain, but I begged off and went to bed before she could start up again.

I was not looking forward to morning. I wanted to make sure I wasn't late, so I set my alarm and then asked the Charge of Quarters to give me a wakeup call. I was hoping I would get to work before Dr. McCoy came in.

I had practiced a little speech that sounded in my head a lot like a humble apology, although my bad self argued that I had absolutely nothing to apologize for and that it was all Dr. McCoy's fault.

When I got to work, I checked in with the charge duty nurse and was told I was needed in sickbay again. Lieutenant Anderson told me that Dr. McCoy wouldn't be in until the afternoon. I stayed busy all morning and the only break I got was when I received a note from Captain Kirk thanking me for dinner and that he had a wonderful time. It didn't sound like McCoy had told him anything about my lunacy the night before. Well, the good doctor was a southern gentleman, so maybe I was safe from the mocking of the rest of the crew.

I was just finishing up changing a bandage on a patient when he walked into sick bay. He had that ironic grin on his face, which infuriated me. He looked directly at me and nodded, then turned away he walked into his private office and I let out the breath I'd been holding for the past five minutes. I turned back to my patient. He was the last of the injured from the attack and was ready to go back to work. I started the paper work and was about halfway done when Yeoman Cartwright walked up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, lieutenant," she said, "Dr. McCoy would like to see you now. I'll finish the paperwork for you."

"Thanks," I said, grinning like I meant it. Adjusting my uniform (what was up with the short skirts?), I walked to his door and knocked soundly.

"Come in, Christine," he voice didn't disclose his mood or what might be on his mind.

Dr. McCoy had my report spread out over his desk. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a pen in the other.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked humbly.

He looked up and motioned for me to sit down. He cleared his throat and began asking me questions about my report; to clarify a point that appeared to contradict the findings. I explained the procedure and while it did seem to contradict, in actuality it supported the hypothesis. I pointed out a different section that explained it. Nodding, he took the report and suggested that I put that I combined the sections for clarity.

"Yes, sir," I offered. "I can see that it is confusing .Thank you."

I started to take the report and stood up to leave.

"Christine," he said, "you were absolutely right. I _was_ jealous that you went out with the captain and that you have a date with Scotty. But it's none of my business who you go out with. I think we'd do well to have a professional relationship, after all we do work together." He looked up at my stunned expression and smiled very quickly, but it was a smile. "I assure you I have no intentions of pursuing any kind of relationship with you."

He looked down at his desk and I realized I was dismissed. I started to turn toward the door. "Too bad," I said and walked out the door.


	5. Chapter 5 Phaser Tag

A/N: Once again, special thanks to Selene the Slytherin who gave me a kick-ass idea for Christine's date with Scotty.

Chapter 5—Phaser Tag

I walked out of Dr. McCoy's office with as much dignity as I could muster. I always had to have the last word, so I was pretty proud of myself for the comeback. I wouldn't let him know he got to me, no matter what. Let him think about how he missed out on someone as wonderful as me. Yeah, he'd be sorry.

Living aboard a starship was like living in a small town. There were a total of 430 officers and crew aboard the _USS_ _Enterprise_ . It had fourteen science labs, officer and enlisted quarters, a recreation area in the lower deck, shuttle bay, engineering section, a hospital, commissary, four officer and petty officer clubs that featured drinking, dining, and dancing. Everyone was in everybody's business and I knew it was only a matter to time before everyone aboard that I had a raging crush on the ship's doctor and how he had not-so-gently rebuffed me. I was sure he went running off to tell his good friend the captain what a hopeless dweeb I was.

How I managed the rest of my shift I'm still not sure. When I was relieved, I took off for my quarters behind a chorus of, "Have a great weekend," and that's when I realized it was Friday and I had one more hurdle to pass and that was my date with Commander Scott.

I promised myself that if I lived through the weekend I would gladly spend the rest of my life in spinsterhood and I would own a hundred cats, which would be my only companions. Not very likely, but I had no idea what was to come.

I got my answer as soon as I walked into my quarters. There was a message from Commander Scott asking me to meet him the next day in the lower deck in the shuttle bay at eleven. I thought eleven was a little early for a drink, but maybe he was trying to get the date over quickly because he was having second thoughts about me. I'll admit I was disappointed because I like Mr. Scott a lot. He looked that the kind of man who enjoyed life and he knew how to have a good time. And quite frankly, I thought he could help me forget about my unrequited situation. The note also said, "Wear something comfortable and you may invite your roommate if you'd like. I know someone who'd like to meet her in a more casual arena."

I read the note three more times and I still couldn't figure out what he meant by 'casual arena'. I showed Selene the note and she thought it meant we were going on a double date.

"But with whom?" I wondered aloud.

"There's some really hot guys in engineering," Selene said, "and security. Have you seen them?"

"No, not really." I said. "The most men I've seen are in medical and those I saw at the Captain's table. Of course, the captain's hot, too." We both giggled at that. "So, are you in?"

"Absolutely. I'm game." We looked at each other and laughed.

We speculated all evening who wanted to meet her in a casual arena.

"I know," I said suddenly. "Your Mr. Sulu. He wants you," I started singing and dancing around repeating his name. She threw a pillow at me and we collapsed in a fit of giggles like a couple of pre-teens.

The next morning we got up early and started doing the girly stuff like 'me time' where I was able take a real bubble bath. We also did the mundane tasks like laundry and cleaning. We dressed in our workout clothes and I plaited my hair into a single braid down my back. The morning passed quickly and we were on our way to the shuttle bay. We hadn't eaten yet, we thought that maybe the date would include a meal.

The shuttle bay area was cleared, and the shuttles were parked around the walls, and there were barriers set up; it looked like an obstacle course. Selene and I looked at each other totally confused. Were we in the middle of a training exercise? Tables were set up with coolers full of beer and plates of sandwiches. Obviously there was a party going on, or one was starting soon.

We both got a beer and set down on the floor and waited. It only took about ten minutes before the first group arrived. Commander Scott was accompanied by six or seven of the men from engineering and security. He waved at me happily when he saw me and the whole group walked toward Selene and me. They were dressed in helmets and had knee pads and protective vests.

"Ha ya ever been stunned?" Scotty asked clapping his hands together.

"What?" we asked together.

"Didn't I tell ya? It's our monthly phaser tag."

"Phaser tag? No, you didn't tell me."

He laughed. "Sorry 'bout that. We get a bunch of people and sneak down here for a quick game. There are two teams, and the winners get bragging rights."

Knowing I really shouldn't ask, I said, "How does one win?"

He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The one with th' most players left, 'o course."

Selene started grinning ear to ear. "Phasers on stun! How cool is that?" She hit me hard on my shoulder

"You're equipment's over there and the armor will issue you your phaser. Don't worry they're locked on stun and no one can arm them."

"Well, that's a relief," I said.

He looked a little hurt. "Do ya not want ta play?" he asked.

"No, of course I do," I said honestly. "It sounds like a lot of fun. This isn't sanctioned by Star Fleet Command, is it?"

He laughed and shook his head. He put his finger to his lip in a shushing sound.

One of the security petty officers helped up get our gear on and explained that it was one of the best methods of training ever. The players had to be alert and accurate. Selene and I looked like the warriors we both knew we were. I was chosen for Scotty's team, and he told me to stay close to him. I thought Selene would be chosen for my team, but Scotty said the other team captain had asked for her personally.

"There's the other team captain, now," Selene and I turned around and there was Sulu accompanied by a few other players from the bridge, including, of all people, Chekhov and, no it couldn't be, Captain Kirk. Selene was too stunned when she saw Sulu that she completely missed the captain. Sulu smiled at her shyly and greeted her.

The rules, Scotty explained, were simple. No head shots, and don't get stunned. The winner was determined by the number of un-phased players on a team after two hours. Only the team captain could call a time out, and there were scheduled five minute break after an hour of play for beer. The most important rule was, we were told, was don't' tell anyone who wasn't invited.

Once the game began, it was the biggest rush I'd ever had in my life. I stuck like an Andarian sucker fish on a Gray Tarlet to Scotty never letting him get out of sight. The players were regulars and they were very, very good. There were several other first timers there and they didn't last very long. The first time I saw a player get stunned, it scared the piss out of me. He was literally knocked back four feet and landed on his back side. The floor was padded so the falls were not so hard, but still, it never feels real good to be knocked to the ground. Some of the players who were stunned got up and continued to play. Apparently that was all right, unless you got hit directly in the chest, then you were out of the game. A player could take himself out of the game, too, if he chose to. One security player, got stunned on the hand, and it was too much for him. He surrendered and went to the beer table.

I was surprised that Captain Kirk wasn't playing; he was one of the umpires. I think he would have wanted to play, but he was an excellent referee. Someone else I didn't know was the other umpire.

I was proud of Selene, she was a natural at the game. I think Mr. Sulu was doubly proud of her, as well. He stopped being overly protective after the first fifteen minutes. Scott had my back for the entire first half. Then after the five minute break, he relaxed a bit. I was a good shot, but I'll admit it was hard to stun my first target, but after I was almost struck by the same person, I thought, _the hell with him,_ and stunned him with my second shot.

Some were just firing indiscriminately, but they were taken out quickly, too. I had never had so much fun in my whole life. I made a defensive maneuver, protecting Scotty, and took out the player. He grinned and then hugged me. I felt wonderful.

Toward the end of the obstacle course, I could still see Selene and she was hovering over a stunned Sulu. Sulu was cursing loudly, having been caught off guard. I motioned for a timeout, but since I wasn't team captain, I was ignored. I wanted to tend to Sulu since I was one of the few medical officers present, but the game continued; Sulu refused to call time. He was still cursing when he was carried off the course. I got a glimpse of Selene, and she grinned at me and mouthed, "I think I'm in love." We both laughed.

That's when it happened. I got knocked in the check with a stunning blow that threw me back a good five feet. I landed hard on my butt and hit my head on the edge of one of the barriers. It wasn't a bad or deep cut, but it did draw blood. "Son of a bitch," I yelled, laughing, I struggled to get up. I wanted to let everyone know that I was all right, and to continue the game, but Scott called a time out. There was less than ten minutes left on the clock; if I could have only made it to the end. I was very disappointed, but perfectly fine. No dizziness or temporary blindness. I just had a tiny cut on the back of my head. The problem was when I stood up, I almost passed out. Scotty caught me and he had a concerned look on his face as I slid into his arms. I tried to explain that I hadn't eaten breakfast that morning, but he insisted on taking me to sick bay when the game was over. So I sat, nibbling some kind of peanutty snack and drank a beer until the game was called. I jumped up and down because my team had won by six players.

I did everything I could to reassure him that I was fine, and even the captain agreed, but to be on the safe side, and to reassure him, I let him take me to sick bay.

Scotty was half carrying me into triage and my arms were wrapped around him. My shirt was pulled up and my bra was exposed, and my stretchy fabric pants had slipped very low on my hips, unfortunately exactly where Scotty's hand were. It was perfectly innocent, but it must have looked almost pornographic when Scott's other hand got caught inside my pants. We were struggling to get untangled but it didn't help that both of us found it extremely funny. I looked up and to my utter horror; Dr McCoy was leaving the sick bay as we walked in.

"Did you have a good time?" Dr. McCoy asked in his sardonic drawl.

"I had a terrific time," I said, my arms still around Scotty. "My hero." I looked straight at Dr. McCoy and kissed Scotty on the cheek. "He saved my life."

McCoy raised his eyebrow and let out a snort. "Phaser tag, Scotty?"

He nodded. "We won," he said proudly. "Christine was brilliant."

"Until I got stunned," I said.

"And she hit her head," Scott supplied.

"It's really nothing," I insisted.

McCoy touched the back of my head where the blood had congealed. I shuttered at his touch, but I was praying he didn't notice. He looked at me and smiled the infuriating smug smile.

He rinsed off the wound with peroxide. "Not bleeding, looks good," he said in a professional tone.

I turned to Scott. "I told you. Let's go. You owe me breakfast." I jumped off the table and held Scott's hand. "Thanks, Doctor," I said giving him a backward glance as we headed for the door.

I didn't give him the opportunity to say anything. He wanted the professional relationship, fine. That's exactly what I decided to do.

There was a big buffet planned back at the shuttle bay and I was afraid I was going to miss eating, so I practically dragged him back to the lower deck. We didn't miss anything and we sat down at the winner's table. The losing team had to toast us; it was sophomoric but it was fun. We drank beer the rest of the afternoon and to be honest when everyone started heading off, I really didn't want to leave. Scott had me in stitches with his adventures. He was funny and respectful and I was happy he had invited me.

Finally, I couldn't find an excuse to stay any longer, so I got up to go. I threw my arms around his neck and gave him a platonic hug. "Thank you for inviting me. I had the best time."

Scotty hugged me back, and kissed me on my cheek. "My pleasure."

I walked back to my quarters; I'd lost Selene somewhere but I was sure she was in good hands. I was almost back at my room, when I saw him. He was waiting for me. I wasn't as surprised as I should have been. So much for professional, I thought. He had a murderous look on this face, which I imagine was more for his anger at himself and not me. It was my turn to smile. "Doctor," I said drolly. "Waiting for me?"

"You could have gotten killed today," he said, still angry.

I nodded. "I realize that now. Thanks for caring."

"He said. "I don't want a professional relationship with you."

"Okay," I said. "What kind of relationship do you want?" I thought that was an honest question.

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You want me as badly as I want you. You're just the stubborn one."

"I've never been the jealous type before," he said.

I looked at him. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to reassure him. "Kiss me," I said.

He pushed me hard against the wall next to my door. His hands were in my hair, holding me tight as his lips crushed mine. My arms went around his neck and I pulled him to me and I deepened the kiss. I pushed myself against him and I felt his heat. I moaned as his tongue parted my lips. _Please don't stop,_ I begged him in my mind. I struggled with the security pad outside the door until the door slid opened and I pulled him inside, his lips still on mine.

"I want you now," he said gruffly. He was still angry, but I knew he was fighting the urge to throw me on the floor and make love to me. Something inside him resisted, but he was weakening.

"Yes," I shuttered. "Don't stop," I begged.

"I won't, "he promised.

It was several hours later, he was holding me and I had my chin resting on his chest. I was about to drift off back to sleep and he was rubbing my back. I exhaled a satisfied breath.

"Do you mind if we don't tell anybody about us?" he asked suddenly.

I raised up my head. "Okay," I said. "Why?"

He readjusted the sheet and covered me. "I'm just not ready to tell the whole ship."

I grinned at him. "So we can be clandestine lovers? That sounds exciting. You're not ashamed of me are you?" I asked suddenly.

"God no," He reddened slightly. "I just made such a big deal out of insisting that our relationship remain professional and I can't believe how quickly I turned it around."

I understood what he was saying. "Okay, our little secret, but I'll probably have to tell Selene since she is my roommate, she might be curious why you're here."

"She's not here you know. I saw her with Mr. Sulu,"

"How wonderful," I said. I was genuinely delighted. It was about damn time.

"That means we can't spend the night together, you know. We'll have to sneak around."

He nodded. "Maybe one or two nights," he hedged.

I shook my head. "Nope, sorry."

"You want me to leave now?" he asked. He wore that damn grin again.

"No," I said kissing him again. "Please stay."

He snuggled up next to me and kissed my hair. "I'll stay."

I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep as he held me. I might wake up tomorrow and realize that this was just a dream, but I had the reality right now and I felt secure in his arms. I sighed contentedly. I'll worry about the consequences another day. Tonight I had him and he was mine.


	6. Chapter 6 Back to work

**A/N: Special thanks to Changgirl! --Rita**

Chapter 6—Back to work

Monday morning, I was back at work, happy as a pig in mud, to quote an old Southern expression. We'd spent several precious hours together, but he hadn't spent the night. Keeping a secret this big on a ship that size was probably going to be impossible. At first I didn't wasn't crazy about the idea of having our relationship in the closet, but now I thought it was pretty exciting, having no one, even Selene, know about us. The only thing that might give it away was he wasn't as surly as he normally was. Well, to anyone but me. I managed to do little flirty things to him that drove him crazy but looked perfectly innocent on the outside.

I wouldn't flirt with him while we were working; to do so would totally unprofessional, but we took the same lunch break; and as we sat in the snack room full of sick bay and administration personnel. I sat across from him and sat with a few of the other staff. My uniform kept riding up high on my thigh and I kept pulling it down discreetly. I caught him looking at my legs a couple of times; of course I think he would have looked at my legs anyway.

I was finishing up lunch when one of the medics handed me an ice cream cone. I loved ice cream and I was making a mess out of it. I glanced at McCoy while I was licking around the cone and he almost choked on his glass of water. My tongue darted out the side of my mouth and lapped the drop of ice cream that was starting to drip down my chin. The corpsman who gave me the ice cream cone was laughing at the mess I'd made and offered me a napkin and then proceeded to wipe the ice cream from my chin.

"Lieutenant, when you're finished, I'd like to see you in my office." I jumped at his standing so close to me. The medic gave me a funny look like I was in trouble or something, and I grimaced. It was like the teacher scolding a student for being naughty or something.

"I'll be right there, doctor," I said as casually as I could muster. There was a tingling going up my spine at the sound of his voice. It felt delicious and at the same time, I knew he was going to yell at me. It wasn't that I _delighted _in irritating him; well, actually I did because he got so frustrated at me that the only thing he could think of was to kiss me until I couldn't think straight.

I tiptoed into his office; his back to me and I couldn't see what he was doing. "Close the door," he said.

I hit the button and the door slid shut. I waited.

"Did you enjoy that?" he asked.

I grinned. I had gotten to him. _Dr. I'm all about the job, don't tell anyone about us _man.

I decided to play dumb. "Lunch? Well, sure, but…"

He turned around; he was angry. "Flirting with the corpsman," he said flatly.

A sly smile spread across my face. "I wasn't flirting with the corpsman, I was flirting with you." I walked up to him and touched his face. "You're the only one I want to impress."

"Well, you need to narrow your appeal, I thought he was going to jump you right there and throw you on a table." The anger was still here, but he reacted to my touch. He was trying to be sardonic, but his breathing, like mine, was increasing.

"You would have rescued me, wouldn't you?" I put my hands on his chest, moving closer still.

"I would have killed him with my bare hands," he said. He grabbed me gruffly and pulled me into his body. The kiss was punishing, but I merely moaned and threw myself into the pleasure of his touch. His hands held me so tight, trapping my arms. His hands moved down to my bottom where grinded himself into me. My breaths came out in smalls pants as worked my arms around his neck.

I thought he was about to jump me right there and throw _me_ on his desk, but he pulled away, shaking his head. "What you do to me," he said breathlessly, shaking his head.

I struggled to control my breathing. "Tell me about it," I said. I adjusted my clothes and smoothed down my hair.

"Believe me, I wouldn't flirt with anyone else," I said suddenly serious. "I wouldn't do that to you, even though you don't want anyone to know about us, and," I held up my hand, when he looked like he was going to interrupt me, "all I want to do when I see that stern look on your face is to get lost in your arms."

He was starting that frustratingly sexy look on his face that drove me mad. "You know why I said that," he began.

I nodded and sighed. "I know. We have a professional relationship, blah, blah,"

He actually smiled.

"Since you haven't marked me 'territorially'," I said, grinning, "what am I supposed to do if a man…?"

He didn't let me finish. "I don't know. You're an incredibly beautiful woman, I know that men desire you. And you put on some vibe," he laughed at the look on my face.

"I was just trying to picture that in my head," I said, laughing. "A vibe, huh? I don't mean to. I usually think of myself as best buds with guys; not, you know romantic or anything."

McCoy snorted. "You're kidding, right?"

I looked at him surprised. "Uh, no."

He shook his head. "You had no idea of the impact your cute little butt has on the male population of his ship?"

I blushed. "You think my butt is cute?" I asked.

He crossed his arms across his chest. "Christine, please. The Captain has the hots for you so bad I want to throttle him, and Scotty! I thought the only love of his life was Scotch and the _Enterprise_. He practically wets himself when you smile at him." He looked at me incredulously. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Well, no need to concern yourself, doctor," I said reaching for him, "you're the one that I want. Even with your stupid conditions."

A knock on the door separated us quickly and we went back to work.

I planned to take a stack of research with me to McCoy's quarters that evening. I didn't plan on going over any of the report, but it was a good prop. I was in a very good mood the rest of the day.

There was not much action in sick bay, the one patient left the day before, and we were finished with sick call. The staff was straightening up and inventorying, making sure we had everything for the next day. We were nowhere any space stations or planets so we didn't expect any action or anything. I wished I had more to write on the research report, but that was practically done. Dr. McCoy stayed in his office finishing up the daily reports while the rest of us just stood around. Some of the corpsmen were playing games once we finished the inventory.

The other nurse on duty, Marcella and I finished up the reports; we gave our paperwork to the admin Yeoman Cartwright. There was absolutely nothing to do, so we sat down to chat. Marcella had been on board since the ship's launch and she loved the _Enterprise._ She'd seen some real action and I was slightly jealous of her. The _USS Ronald Reagan _was never attacked and its only mission was escort.

"What do you think of the good doctor?" she asked conversationally.

"I think he's an excellent doctor," I said honestly.

"And he's hot," she said.

I smiled at her and nodded. "Yeah, he's hot," I agreed.

"He's kind of old fashioned, though," she said. I looked at her. "He's had a very bad marriage that drove him to drink, and made him real wary of women. He doesn't date staff, and he's real polite around women, but he sure can be a jerk if you screw up."

I rolled my eyes, "Tell me about it. He thinks I'm the biggest idiot on board."

Marcella shook her head. "No, he likes you. Well, you're work anyway. I can tell."

"Well, that's nice to know. He complimented my part on the report he's doing, which made me feel good."

Marcella nodded. "But he's always so…"

"Intense?" I finished for him.

"He can be the sweetest boss in the world or the biggest asshole. If I didn't crave his body so much, I'd run away screaming when he came near me," Marcella laughed.

"I know exactly what you mean," I said honestly.

"I'm still hoping he'll notice me, throw me down on his desk and bang the shit out of me," Marcella said dreamily.

I didn't laugh at her candid statement. It actually pissed me off, but I couldn't really say anything. I gave her a pointed look.

"What? Don't tell you have never wish you and he would do the nasty dance. But then, you've got the Captain and Engineering panting after you, don't you? You don't need him do you?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. If I didn't know Marcella better, and actually I didn't, I thought she was being bitchy.

"The Captain and engineering are not panting after me, as a matter of fact, and yeah, I wish Dr. McCoy would come through that door and drag me off by my hair and make love to me until I couldn't breathe." I was just getting started. "His touch, his smile, his grumpy moods; all of it drives me absolutely wild," I stopped talking when she looked past me. _Oh great, _I thought,_ he's standing right behind me._ I turned around and there he was, staring at me.

Marcella stood up and walked away from me in a very big hurry. She must have thought it was funny; the new girl pining over the sexy doctor and him walking in while I talked about how I wanted him to make to love me. _What the bitch didn't know, _I thought.

"Christine," McCoy said.

Marcella was watching from just outside the main sick bay room. She was close enough to see what was going on and to hear if McCoy was going to chew me out. She had a smug look on her face, which irritated me more than I could say. At that very moment, I wished with all that was in me that he would pull me into his arms and kiss me until I was breathless; then I'd turn around and flip her off.

I sighed. "Yes, Dr. McCoy?" I asked innocently. I was facing him, and I knew that Marcella couldn't see my face, so I smiled at him. He had a stern look on his face, but he nearly smiled at me when I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue.

I mouthed, "kiss me, please." But he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I want to finish the report tonight," he said all professional, with a hint of humor. "Can you come to my quarters at six?"

"Are you going to feed me?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. "And then," he leaned very close to me, "I'll make love to you until you can't breathe."

My face reddened and my pulse took off faster than warp speed. He smiled me, and then looked up at Marcella and nodded. "See you tonight," he said.


	7. Chapter 7 The Mission

Chapter 7--The Mission

I left a note for Selene that I would be working on the report with Dr. McCoy, but to be honest I figured I'd be home before she saw the note. She and Lt. Sulu were spending a lot of time together; he was teaching her fencing, and I could only imagine what she was teaching him. They fit together so well as a couple, I was extremely happy for her. They looked so cute together.

There was absolutely nothing to do with the report, so the evening was spent in each others' arms. It felt wonderful to be with him with no worries in the universe. It was also very nice to get to know him better. He didn't like to talk about the past, but he told me about his family in Georgia and his training in Mississippi. He knew I was from Savannah and we talked about the beauty of the town. He said his parents were still in Atlanta, but they were estranged because of the problems he had with his former wife.

I found out he had a daughter, but it was still raw for him to talk about and I didn't want to push him. There was still a lot of bitterness toward his ex-wife and I got the distinct feeling he wasn't likely to make that mistake again. I wasn't looking of forever afters either.

He was fiercely loyal to his friends, especially the Captain. He told me he wouldn't have gone after me if I'd chosen Kirk. He would, however, have fought Scotty for me. I laughed at that. But he said it was only because he knew Scotty's first love was the _Enterprise_ and I wouldn't have been able to compete with her.

I was lying lazily on his chest and his hands were in my hair, absently smoothing it down. I didn't want to leave but I knew I couldn't spend the night with him. We didn't need the gossip. It was still early, we ate dinner in his room instead of going out; our together time was too special right now.

We both drank bourbon and branch water. I think I impressed with my ability to hold my liquor.

"I'm going to have to come with another project we can work on," he said. "Star Fleet's going to know this report has been finished a week ago. And you're too good for me to make you re-do it, dammit."

"I'm good, huh?" I said lazily as I wound my arms around his neck.

He pushed me off him and into the floor and he held my arms over my head pinning me down. He teased me with his tongue and his lips leaving me breathless. I tried to squirm out of his hold but he held me too tightly.

"You're only starting something because you know I have to go, and you want me all hot and bothered," I said, still struggling. He laughed and let me go.

"You're right. I love the look on your face, it gets all flushed," he said. He stood up and pulled me into his arms. I snuggled in securely, waiting for him to kiss the stuffing out of me, but we were interrupted by a buzz from the communicator.

"Dr. McCoy," the voice said.

"McCoy here," he let me go like someone could see us.

"Captain wants to see you on the bridge right away," it said.

"Be right there. McCoy out."

"Well, shit," I said. I kissed him and pulled on my jacket. "Oh well, if I'd stay any longer, I'd have just gotten myself in trouble. See you tomorrow."

He kissed me and we walked out of his room together. We rode the elevator together but we stood on opposite ends and I got off after two stops and he winked at me as the door closed around him.

I was right about Selene not being home when I got there. We rarely saw each other, but at least she was happy. I rooted around my closet for some reading; I was vastly behind in my scientific journals. My parents kept me in good supply with the latest. I had just settled in with an article written by my mother, Beatrice, in the _New England Journal of Medicine _about the ancient disease tuberculosis and the basis for resistance in most humans. As fascinating as the article was, I found my mind wandering.

I kept thinking about how wonderful and secure I felt in McCoy's arms. His annoyed looks at his staff and the expression on his face when I managed to irritate him kept popping into my head. I also kept seeing the gentleness when comforting an injured man and the combination of intensity and tenderness in his eyes when he made love to me. How his body reacted to mine and, oops, that wasn't going to help me get to sleep. So I sighed happily and looked for a bigger distraction.

Selene came in about half an hour later, and I don't think she was expecting me because she was dragging in a very red-faced Sulu and they were both laughing.

"Oh, hi," she said, stopping dead in her tracks.

I grinned. "I'm sorry I'm here," I said honestly, "but Dr. McCoy was called to the bridge and we didn't get to finish working on the report." Well, _most_ of it was true; he was called to the bridge and we didn't get to finish.

"Don't mind me, I'm off to bed anyway," I said. I waved to the good helmsman and locked myself in my room.

Like the love struck doe that I was, I dreamed about McCoy all night. I wondered why I never called him by his first name. _Leonard._ I think it was because his last name fit him better than his first; and I never even thought about calling him what the captain called him; _Bones_. I wondered where he got a name like that. In the old days, doctors used to be called a variation of bones or sawbones, but I had the feeling that wasn't where that came from. I thought I'd ask him about that next time I saw him.

I had no idea when Sulu finally left, but he was gone the next morning and Selene already left for work when I finally got up. Selene, the sweetheart, left me coffee and a sweet roll so I could have a couple extra minutes and wouldn't have to eat in the dining facility.

When I made it into the sick bay, sick call was about to begin. I checked Dr. McCoy's door, but it was opened and he wasn't there. There were three corpsmen and six medics, two nurses and one PA. Everything had been prepared the day before, so basically we were just waiting for the walking wounded to report for sick call. Normally one percent of the total ship's population reported some sort of illness on a daily basis. Sick call was from six the morning and ran until nine a.m. As the first sickie of the day was about to walk through the door, we received a signal from the communicator. It was Dr. McCoy.

"Lieutenant Chapel, I need you to report to the bridge ASAP," he said brusquely.

"Aye, sir," I said. I looked at my co-workers and shrugged. I ran out the door and up to the bridge. He was standing with the science officer, the captain, and a security team.

"Good morning, Christine," the captain said jovially. "Sorry to drag you away from sick call but we need you for our landing party."

I looked at Dr. McCoy, very confused. "Okay, sir. What's up?"

"The good doctor tells me you're an expert in xenobiotics, and we need your expertise. Dr. McCoy will fill you in on our way to the transporter room."

"Do I need anything?" I asked dumbly.

McCoy shook his head. "The corpsmen are bringing the equipment," he said. Then he whispered, "Relax, Christine. It'll be all right."

Apparently during the night, the ship had received a distress call from an outpost and the _Enterprise_ was the closest ship with complete science and medical labs. A mysterious illness had taken over some of the outpost personnel and we needed to investigate the source and treat the afflicted.

We donned our hazmat gear and went into the transporter room. Scotty was at the control and he waved at me when I came in. I was kind of hoping we could take the shuttle, but apparently we were in a hurry. I know I must have look scared because the two security men that I'd play phaser tag with were smiling and giving me a 'thumbs up' signal. I weakly smiled back. McCoy glanced at me, and pulled his mouth into a smile. Not very encouraging, but at least he looked at me.

Captain Kirk looked like a little kid going to his first rodeo. He grinned the whole way. First Officer Spock looked mildly interested, but he never said a word. I was hoping to see Selene, but she didn't make the landing party.

I knew most of the security team. They were a fun-loving group but deadly serious about their mission. The minute they stepped on the transporter, they were totally professional.

We were beamed into the command post where those who were not affected had congregated. Of the original crew of sixty, only fourteen were not affected. When we arrived, of 46 that had been stricken with the illness, twenty-nine had died within the first two weeks. It appeared those affected were random; half of the medical staff was asymptomatic, while nine were in one of three stages. Those who were affected died within the two weeks from the onset.

I was introduced as the xeonbiologist and I was given all the available data. I asked for blood samples (crude, I know, but sometimes that's the best way) of the affected and those who appeared not to be infected. None of the medical staff had done samples on the unaffected staff, but these were doctors not researchers, so the first thing I did was collect a sample from everyone, including the landing party. The hypothesis was the pathogen was airborne, it was breathed into the lungs where the infection grew. No one was sure what the pathogen was either because all test for known pathogens came up negative. So this was something new.

It was going to take me at least a couple of months just to go through the raw data and I knew that I had to remain on the outpost in order to work out the cause, treatment and prevention. I wasn't sure who I should talk to first, but decided it would be best to talk to McCoy, figuring that he would support my rationale for staying. He was collecting samples from the unaffected crew when I approached him.

"Dr. McCoy," I said, "I don't see any point of having an entire landing party here. I need maybe one other person to help me with the research, and the rest of you should go on back to the ship."

He looked at me strangely. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you should leave me here to do my research and I'm confident I will have all the answers in three or four months," I said.

"Don't be ridiculous, Lieutenant, we have 14 science labs aboard the _Enterprise_, you can do your research there," he gave me a harsh look.

"That's crazy. Tell me how it would be better for me to haul half the planet, including personnel, back to the ship when I have everything here. You can transport, beam, or voodoo the lab material here, but it'll be a hell of a lot more efficient and effective for me if I stay here."

"Dammit Christine, do you have any idea how dangerous it'll be for you here?"

I stared at him; I wanted to yell and scream at him. "What is your problem, Leonard?" I said, calling him by the first name. "You know I'm right," I said in a quieter tone.

He looked around the room, as if to check to see if someone was within in earshot that he didn't want to be listening. "I'm selfish," he whispered. "I don't want to be away from you for a couple of months."

"I know," I said, dying to touch him; to smooth out that crinkled brow. "But you know I'm right," I said, more adamant than before. "I can help them." I knew he couldn't fight the logic.

Without another word, I approached the science officer, who agreed that I should stay behind with another crewman. With Mr. Spock on my side, I knew that Captain Kirk would approve the action. There was no need for any other kind of discussion, but the captain insisted on asking McCoy for his opinion.

I looked at McCoy straight in the eye. He didn't blink or back away. I hated going over his head like that, but I knew I was doing the right thing. Finally, McCoy sighed and looked away from me. "She's right," he said finally. "You should give her permission to stay here and do the research here, but I do also think that we should remain here for at least another couple of days. You never know, the solution could be right under our nose."

That wasn't necessary, but I grinned at his assessment. A few more days certainly couldn't hurt. If we couldn't come up with the answer, they would leave me here on the outpost in the company of a crew that was dead or dying.


	8. Chapter 8 What the Hell was I Thinking?

Chapter 8—What the Hell was I thinking?

Our last night together was painful. I wanted to hold him and have him wrap his arms around me. And I needed his kisses to breathe. We spent our only alone time in the makeshift lab that the science and medical group from the ship set up for the research. He touched me as much as he could get away with without someone noticing. Our hands linger as he passed instruments to me as we inventoried the supplies. He found one place within the quarantined area where we wouldn't be seen or heard. It was about the size of a small broom closet, but he pulled me inside and before he could tell me how stupid I was to stay, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him. He deepened the kiss. We had absolutely no more time together.

"I hate your stupid rule," I pouted, as I reluctantly pulled away from him.

"The idea of it is losing a lot of its appeal, I'll admit," he said trying to smile. "But I thought it was a good idea at the time."

I nodded. "Yeah, well. How 'bout you rethink this whole, _'I can't tell anyone we're together_' while I'm gone, okay?"

He grinned. "I promise."

We were having dinner with the crew of the outpost. The evening was strained. Even the captain, who always seemed to be in a good mood, was quiet. I don't think he thought he'd done enough to help these poor people. He definitely had a super hero complex.

When the remaining landing party was ready to leave, Captain Kirk gave me a hug and kissed me on my cheek.

"Be careful, Christine. I'm going to miss you. We all are. You bring so much brightness to the ship. I'm so proud of you, too."

I smiled and blushed a little. "I'm going to miss you, too." I looked around to the others. My eyes met McCoy. He smiled at me in a purely professional way.

"Don't leave the galaxy without us," I kidded.

"I'll expect a daily report, Christine," McCoy said, brusquely. Under his breath, he said, "I still don't think you should stay here, we've got a completely adequate medical lab aboard the _Enterprise,_" he grumbled, "but who the hell listens to me; I'm just the ship's doctor."

"Yes, sir," I said trying not to laugh.

I watched them disappear into a gazillion little pieces of light. I waved at McCoy and blew him a kiss he never saw. The second they disappeared I ran back into my new lab and sat down, ready to begin the research that was going to save lives. I couldn't keep from crying. I missed him already. _What the hell was I thinking?_

One of the research assistance from the science lab would be staying on with me. His name was Stanley Murdock. I think McCoy picked him out especially for me because he was short, squat, not very attractive, and he had a very annoying laugh. He wasn't all that smart either. He walked in behind me and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant," he began.

I turned around to speak with him and he jumped back. He saw that my eyes were red and my nose was running from crying and he must have thought the worst.

"Oh," I said, waving my hand dismissively, "this isn't what you think." I didn't want to admit that I was a sentimental fool and was crying because I missed my boyfriend already, and I certainly couldn't tell him it was allergies because he would still think I was infected and trying to hide it. I blew my nose and batted my eyes. "See, all dried up, I was sad to see the crew leave, that's all. No bug."

He stared at me for a good forty-five seconds and since I didn't snot out anymore, he relaxed a little.

"So," he said. "What do you want to do first?" He slapped his hands together and rubbed them in an annoying way.

The problem was the computer used for diagnosis didn't recognize the bacteria or virus or whatever the hell it was. Of course, whatever it was, was foreign. Everyone was convinced that it was an airborne pathogen because it made sense. The first symptom affected the lungs.

Those not affected by the mysterious symptoms were nervous wondering when or if they'd become infected. They watched their comrades one by one become sick and die a horrible death; I'm sure they were just wondering when it would happen to them. The symptoms of the affliction were frightening. During the onset of Phase I, the victim would begin to snot (that's a crude term, but accurate). It started out clear, turn cloudy white, then yellow, green, and finally bloody. The victim had a productive cough, which should have expectorated the excessive amounts of phlegm, but there didn't appear to be much once the mucus turned into a bloody discharge; followed by Conjunctivitis, fever, bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. These symptoms were fairly common in any virus or bacterial infection; but it was the fact that we had no idea what the pathogen looked like, since it was not in any diagnostic computer programs.

Phase II appeared to be neurological beginning with depression increased sensitivity to pain, muscle un-coordination, followed muscle spasms, deterioration of mental abilities and motor skills. Immediately when the patient experienced petit seizures, he was in Phase III. Phase III was characterized by complete or partial paralysis, grand mal seizures and finally death. Symptom onset to death was still fourteen days.

We definitely had our work cut out for us. I still wasn't buying the whole airborne theory. It probably made the most sense, but I did an analysis of the oxygen levels and everything read fine. Another point was when we analyzed landing party's blood, there was nothing abnormal about the blood at all. My money was ingestion, because it was a small outpost and they ate meals together. Now if I could just prove it.

I kept reading on the data that was provided by the medical staff ; something was very familiar about the symptoms, I thought, but I wasn't sure. One of the tools sent to me was an ancient microscope; maybe if I got a look at it, I could better diagnose it. I even had couple of Petri dishes to grow the thing. This was the exciting part of research for me.

I kept mulling the symptoms over in my head and there was still a level of familiarity about them, although there was nothing in the medical journals or in the computer. The first day, I worked over seventeen hours before my assistant literally fell asleep in mid-sentence.

The medical staff wanted to help me all they could, but I was reluctant to allow them to contaminate my research, but I was at least nice about it. I knew they were just trying to help, but I was concerned if one of them was a carrier.

I went to my quarters quietly and got ready for bed. There was still something I knew I was missing, but it was going to be long day tomorrow, so I had to get some sleep. I pushed the image of McCoy out of my head, and went to sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning, I woke up early and in a pretty good mood. I was still going over the symptoms and I was headed to the shower when I received a communication from the _Enterprise._ It was from McCoy. I was so unbelievably happy to hear his voice that I almost cried again. He was in his office.

"Good morning," I said cheerfully.

He looked grumpy. I grinned at that.

" I bet you've been up for hours. I was just on my way to take a shower," I said, flirting outrageously.

He rolled his eyes. "I received your report," he said ignoring my flirting. "Good work. Any more infections?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll have the data on the non-affected crewmen this morning. I think that's significant. Either they are immune, or they don't have the virus."

"Oh, so it's a virus now?" he asked.

I nodded. I slipped my robe off one of my shoulders seductively. I heard him take a sharp intake of breath.

"Christine, this comline is not secure," he said in a warning tone.

"_What_?" I said innocently. I let my robe open on its own exposing a fair amount of cleavage. "I'm pretty sure we're dealing with a virus. And the symptoms are driving me crazy because I know I've heard of them before, even though they aren't in the computer or any intergalactic reference guide." I raised my hands above my head and stretched, exposing even more.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then he gave me an exasperated look.

"I miss you," I said quietly.

"You're the one who had to stay," he said pointedly.

"I know." I wrapped the robe tighter around me. "I'll send you another report tonight, and if you have anything, please call me."

He smiled somewhat. "I will. I'll talk to you soon." He did smile before the disconnected us.

My day started up on a happy note, and I actually whistled on my way to the shower. When I got to the lab, Mr. Sonntag, the outpost's director was waiting for me.

"Ah, Dr. Chapel," he said. His face reflected a new sense of hope from the first day we came aboard. His concern for the crew was evident by the lines of his face. "Good morning."

"Good morning. Please call me Christine," I said.

"Christine," he repeated. "Dr. McCoy spoke very highly of you. He's confident that if anyone is going figure out what's going on with my men, it will be you."

That made me feel even better. "He's right," I said. "I think it's just a matter of weeks before we're able to isolate the virus. There've been no more outbreaks; you've done an excellent job in quarantining those who haven't been infected. I'm very confident that we've be able to come up with immunizations." I stopped in mid thought. "Excuse me," I said, running into the lab and grabbing a sheet of demographic information. I scanned the information quickly.

I looked up and smiled, "I think I have something here."

**A/N: Okay, I know it's pretty damn obvious I don't have a medical bone in my body, but thanks for ****not**** pointing that fact out! I really want to thank everyone who've alerted, reviewed, and made this story a favorite. I'm so overwhelmed. Thank you! Love you! Now, get back to the story!--Rita**


	9. Chapter 9 Letters from Home

**A/N: Who else could write the letter from Selene but Selene herself. Bows to, applauds and throws kisses to Selene the Slytherin for her amazing contribution to this chapter. Thank you, thank you, thank you!—Rita**

Chapter 9—Letters from "Home"

Looking over the demographics of the crew affected and not affected revealed some interesting facts. First of all, everyone who initially got sick was in age group 18 to 21. The second group affected were ages 23 to 27, and the group who were the slowest to become symptomatic were older than 29. The oldest crewman on the outpost was 48 and was asymptomatic. Blood test reveal normal blood count. The ship's doctor was 35 and the director of the outpost was 40. Neither the doctor nor Mr. Sonntag showed any signs of being affected. I wrote my observations in my daily report and sent it along with the data collected the previous day to Dr. McCoy for his opinion. He sent me a message telling me that it sounded like I was on to something.

It seemed so freaking obvious now; the degree was onset was determined by age. The younger the man, the sooner the onset of symptoms and the older crew seemed to be immune completely. That was just a theory; it could be time on contamination or amount ingested or inhaled. There were a lot of things to consider.

Days were turning into weeks and weeks were creeping into my first month away from the _Enterprise, _the good doctor, and my friends and co-workers. I talked the medical doctor, Dr. Benson, into giving the crew a broad scale anti-viral cocktail. So far, none of the rest of the crew were showing symptoms.

Mr. Sonntag asked me whether it would be permissible to bring some replacements so that the work could continue. That wasn't my decision to make, obviously but I didn't think it was a good idea. I got the feeling he was going to do it anyway, but hopefully my opposition was recorded. I sent a message to Star Fleet Command with my recommendation and we were waiting for a reply.

The longer I was there, the more homesick for the _Enterprise _I became. The ship had traveled out of the normal range for communication and I had to wait days before I heard from anyone. Stanley was a pain in the ass and the biggest whiner I'd come across and we had nothing in common, except xenobiotics; and he wasn't an expert, he was only interested in cybergenetics, but only in the area of DNA for forensics studies. I think live people scared him. I know I scared him sometimes. He took absolutely no initiative and asked me before he did anything. Had I known he was going to be such a baby, I would have insisted that I be left here alone.

I dutifully posted my reports daily but I got no response and that was depressing me. I sent messages to Selene and the sick bay staff, but I hadn't heard anything in three weeks. I dreamed about McCoy every night, and during my quiet time before I went to sleep at night, I pictured him with another woman; that was the reason he wasn't writing to me, he'd found someone else. It was driving me crazy.

There were two other people from the _Enterprise, _two security officers who were here for my and Stanley's protection. I don't think McCoy would have approved of me being on a semi-deserted outpost in the middle of _I-had-no-idea _where. I didn't talk to them very much, except at meals, but it beat talking to Stanley the _'forensics is the only true science'_ idiot.

Finally, after another week, I received notice on my computer that I had letters from "home". I actually cried. Right after supper, I ran into my little room and opened the first message. It was from Selene:

_Holy crap! What did you do to Dr. McCoy? Did you take his favorite hypo, orare you holding his teddy bear for ransom down on the planet? He's really become intolerable since you've gone. We're taking up a collection on the bridge to pay to swap you for Dr. McCoy. I'd much rather have you aboard than that grumpy bastard. He actually made poor little Chekov cry the other day. Chekov had come into Medical the other day with a minor fever, and McCoy just kept blasting him. "This is why we shouldn't allow kids on spaceships." "Whatever you do, don't mention a damn thing about Russia." "Do you miss your mommy up here in space? She can't tuck you in or baby you up here." Poor Chekov left right then and went back to his room. Hikaru got worried when he didn't hear anything from Pavel or Medical, so he went to Chekov's room to check on him. And, he found Chekov crying on the bed. McCoy's become downright cruel. Isn't there anything you can do about him? _

_Miss you, _

_Selene _

_PS: Hikaru and I are doing great. I'm getting a lot better at fencing. He still sucks at baking, though. _

_PPS: PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!! _

I laughed at the letter. God, I missed her so much. I missed her brownies and our chats at odd hours of the night. So McCoy was being surly huh? Cool.

My next letter was from Marcella, the nurse I worked with in sick bay. I had written to a couple of times just because I was bored out of my mind and I wanted to hear gossip. Marcella was one of the worst for gossips on the whole ship. If she didn't know what was going on, she'd make it up.

_Christine! What a surprise. I didn't expect to get your message, but so glad I did. Girl, you are so lucky you're on that remote outpost, because our good doctor has gone absolutely manic! Nothing we do is right; his temper is ever shorter than it was before. God, he needs to get laid!! _(Tell me about it.)

_Oh, and apparently you are second coming. He's like, 'Lt. Chapel never screwed up an order' and he actually said to Johnson, 'Explain to me how an officer who has been here less than a month, like Lt. Chapel, manages to know more about the operation in this sick bay than someone who has been with the ship since she launched, Johnson? Are you just a moron or do you work hard at being a fuck-up?' _

_If I didn't know you were screwing the Captain, I'd think something was going on between you two the way he talks about you. Maybe next time I'll volunteer for a hot project and get on his good side._

_Let me know about the two security guys they left with you. They are totally hot and I bet the captain will never know what you're doing down there. I see a Christine sandwich! Yum!_

Bitch! I didn't read the rest of her diatribe, I deleted the letter. She must think I'm here on a freaking vacation or something. I never realized how mean this woman was and how much she must despise me. Well, I didn't have time to analyze the abuse she must have experienced as a child to make her so bitter.

I shut off my computer and put my head on my folded arms and cried. After my good cry, I wiped my tears and blew my nose. There was a blinking light at the bottom of my computer; I had a live message. Holding my breath, I punched 'receive' and there in front of me was Captain Kirk, smiling his usual crooked grin.

" Christine!" he said jovially. "Finally, we can talk! How are you?" he asked.

I tried to smile. "Oh, you know. Busy saving the galaxy," I joked.

"I know," he said. "I'm impressed with your reports. You know we miss you up here. The place isn't the same without you."

"I heard," I said trying to sound smug.

"I don't know what kind of charm you put Dr. McCoy under, but we sure could use some of that charm now."

I pretended to laugh. "I think he's jealous I'm down here steeped in glamour and he's stuck up there with you guys. That and I'm so incredibly beautiful he can't live without seeing my face every day." I really did laugh at that.

Jim chuckled. "I think that's closer to the truth. Anyway he wanted to speak to you about something you sent. Uhura's going to transfer you to his quarters. You're doing great work, Christine, we're proud of you."

I blushed. "Thank you sir."

I waited for an incredible amount of time before I was transferred.

I saw him before he saw me. He was putting on a shirt and he looked so good. "McCoy here," he said curtly.

"Hi sailor," I said trying hard not to cry. I saw another figure in the room who was hurrying out of the shot. It was that red headed bitch, Marcella. Just what the hell was she doing in McCoy's room and him without a shirt on?

"Christine?" he said before I shut the computer top, ending the transmission.


	10. Chapter 10 Distractions

Chapter 10--Distractions

I stared at my computer for a full sixty seconds before I took a breath. Surely he wouldn't do that to me. I had to think carefully what I saw; I saw that red-headed bitch duck down out of the picture. But McCoy looked casual about it. But then he would wouldn't he? Did she have clothes on? I couldn't tell. Oh for crying out loud, I thought as I opened my computer up. I hailed for a frequency and contacted the _Enterprise. _

Uhura forwarded the trans and I waited holding my breath. Again, I heard a gruff voice, "McCoy here."

"Hi," I said shyly.

"Christine," he smiled at me. "What happened?"

I swallowed hard and shrugged. "Don't know. Are you alone?"

"Yes, I'm alone." He smiled again. "Why? You have something in mind?"

I blushed. "I just wondered why…"

He looked at me expectantly. "Why what?"

"Why you were shirtless with that, uh, with Marcella in your office?" I said it fast.

McCoy burst out in a loud belly laugh. I turned a bright red and waited for him to stop laughing.

"You think that's funny, do you?" I asked, getting annoyed.

"Well, yeah, actually."

"Well, enlightened me," I said. I wanted to cry, but I swore I wouldn't.

"I like you jealous," he said in a silky voice.

"I'm not jealous," I said too quickly.

He grinned.

"Well?"

"Well what?" he asked, still grinning.

"Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Take off your shirt," his voice was husky.

My mood was softening. I felt a flutter deep inside me just hearing the huskiness of his voice. "I miss you," I said quietly. "I am jealous because I can't touch you and I feel your body next to mine."

"I miss your kisses," he said, his eyes were slightly glassy. "Take off your shirt," he repeated.

I pulled my shirt over my head and threw it aside. I heard his sharp intake of breath.

"You're so beautiful," he said.

I wiped a tear that fell down my cheek. "I'll be back soon, promise you'll make love to me until I can't breathe."

"I promise."

"Don't let Marcella see you without a shirt again."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, suppressing a laugh. "It's not what you think, I assure you. I didn't know she was in my office; I came out of the head when I heard the communicator. I was hoping it was you. She was probably dropping off the daily reports. She has more work to do now that I'm short a nurse."

I nodded absently; I did believe him. Maybe I'm the dumbest person, I chose to trust him. "I'm a little insecure these days. You have a ship full of distractions." I stood up and hooked my thumbs in the waist band and pushed my sweat pants down to my ankles and stepped out of them, revealing a sexy pair of black panties.

He groaned and his face was flushed. "You're killing me, Chapel," he said.

I grinned this time. I was running out of time, and I knew I'd be cut off. I just prayed that no one was monitoring our transmission. "I have to go before they cut us off. You've been receiving my reports?"

He nodded and touched a stack of printed reports. "I just got these today; looks like about a month's worth. I'm going over them tonight. Anything you need to point out before I start reading?" He was suddenly all business.

"I have an interesting theory about the age of those infected first and the order. And I keep going over the symptoms and they seem so familiar," I said putting my shirt back on. "Maybe you can figure it out."

"Nothing in the computer?" he asked.

I shook my head and shrugged. "I need some ancient texts on viruses. It has to be there somewhere."

"Unless you've discovered a whole new strain."

"It would help if we knew what it looks like," I said.

"You'll get it, Christine. I trust you."

And with that the transmission ended. I looked at the time and decided I really should go to sleep. The test I've been running should be ready to analyze. Maybe tomorrow was the day when I would crack this baby.

I went straight to sleep, smiling happily as I dreamed about McCoy. My dreams were becoming more vivid and crazy. McCoy was of course in my dreams, he was chewing someone out for being an idiot at work. He kept yelling and screaming until his rants quit sounding like words. He sounded like a dog barking. A_ dog?_ Where the hell did that…

I jumped up out of my cot and ran without wasting time putting something on. All I was wearing was my T-shirt and my black panties. I ran right into the lab and started going through a bunch of old medical books. Not human, I thought to myself, frantically as I went through a stack of records and old journals, but I wasn't able to find what I was looking for. I looked the computer references some 300 year old journals, shocked that I was able to read any of them. I knew it was in there somewhere.

Not _human,_ I said to myself. It's something totally different. I was mad at myself for not recognizing it before now. I knew when I saw the virus I would know exactly what it was. The problem was finding it. I probably had seen it over a dozen times and I didn't recognize it because I was looking for something _human._

If the virus proved to be what I thought it was, it was only a matter to hours before I could isolate it and find the anti-virus. I needed more blood samples from the deceased.

I looked at the computer screen and shifted gears; not medical resources, I said to myself. I'm going to have to look in ancient veterinary books. If I was right, then the virus was passed on only to dogs. This is why it was so hard to find. Humans couldn't catch it and didn't pass it on to other humans, well not until now. I was positive that the virus was a mutation of one of the oldest recorded diseases known; canine distemper. And I was about to prove it.

**A/N: Sorry this is so short, but it's a filler chapter to the beginning of the end. Thanks for reading my story and the wonderful response. --Rita**


	11. Chapter 11 Eureka

Chapter 11—Eureka

"Stanley!" I yelled into the communicator that I hope was attached to Stan's ear. "Get to the lab, stat!"

I went straight to the computer that contained the data on the mysterious virus and stood in front of the gigantic interactive screen. Nervously and more excited than I've been in a long time, I held my breath as I said, "Computer, analyze data contained in Virus X, Golathan Outpost 217, to ancient virus known as canine distemper virus, CDV."

After several seconds of dead air, and me drumming my fingers on the table, pictures and data were being thrown on the screen, "Analyzing…" the cool, smooth female voice answered.

"Compare data with VXGO217 samples 1-38," I chewed my thumbnail. "_Come on, come on, come on,"_ I coaxed.

Stanley ran into the lab out of breath, he saw everything splashed on the computer screen, and started to smile. "You got it?" he asked.

"We'll see," I said. "Get me the ship's medical logs, please," I told him. "If it is what I think it is, we're going to have to find out how the virus was first introduced."

"Christine," the computer said calmly, "There appears to be a substantial likelihood that VXGO217 is the same as CDV."

"Likelihood?"

"Ninety-four percent."

I exhaled finally. Ninety-for percent was good, but I needed at least ninety-nine percent. "What is the difference?" I asked.

"VXGO217 appears to be a mutated strain of the CDV. CDV never infected humans due to the species difference."

"But, it's the same root virus, computer?"

"It appears so," the computer hedged.

I jumped up and down and hugged Stanley. "Computer, show me the CDV and VXGO217 side by side, please."

The picture of the deadly virus appeared on the screen. "Hello, my beauty," I said solemnly.

"I wonder why the connection wasn't made before," Stanley said, looking at the two pictures.

"It wouldn't connect the human/canine; there's no reason to associate the two. Humans don't get canine viruses."

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"The symptoms kept ringing a familiar bell in my head. I knew I'd heard them before. And I just remembered some research I did as an intern on animal viruses." What I didn't tell him was my dream about McCoy barking like a dog. I doubt he would have understood.

I hit the communicator button, "Dr. Benson," I said. "Please come to the lab." I didn't wait for his response.

"You have that log, Stan?" I asked.

I waited on him to call up the log and the first thing I thought about was how much I wanted to share the good news with McCoy. He and Kirk had faith in me.

"What's wrong?" Dr. Benson asked as he walked groggily through the door.

"Why did you believe the virus was airborne?" I asked.

"First symptoms," he said yawning. "Excessive mucus in the nose."

I nodding, thinking about what he said. "I've read your medical log at the onset of the illness, and I'm interested in knowing the changes in routine approximately two weeks before the first outbreak."

Surely these people had considered an incubation period. A virus doesn't pop out of thin air. I just wanted to shake this guy. "Two weeks," I repeated. "Anything?"

Dr. Benson looked up suddenly. "We had fresh vegetables. Normally the food is processed, but some of the men planted a garden outside."

"Where'd the soil come from?" I asked.

"They just planted the seeds in the soil," he said.

"You didn't test the soil to make sure it wasn't toxic?"

He shook his head. "Just the surface soil," he admitted.

"Well, we'll need a sample of the soil. How far down?"

Dr. Benson shrugged. "Everyone who worked on the garden is dead."

If I had been less of a person, I would have rolled my eyes, but I didn't. I wanted to scream. It was actually too simple; the virus lay dormant under the surface; it was disturbed, if they used a fertilizer, which caused a chemical reaction, resurrecting the CDV in a form that was lethal to humans. Of course Dr. Benson wasn't a research scientist, he didn't look at things the way I did. Still, you'd think a little common sense…

"What happened to the garden?" I asked.

"We more or less abandoned everything outside the compound after the virus hit. Fresh vegetables caused the deaths?"

I shrugged. That's what I was going to find out. I put my hands on my hips when it dawned on me that I was practically naked. I still had on my T-shirt, no bra and panties. Oh great, I thought. Recovering quickly, I started putting on the hazmat gear like it had been my intention all along.

"You're not going out there in the middle of the night are you?" Dr. Benson asked.

"Sure. I'm awake now. I'm anxious to get going; the sooner the better."

"You don't want to go out there while it's dark," he cautioned. "It's very dangerous. Nocturnal beasts prowl and they are deadly."

"This close to the compound?" I asked.

"Yes, that's why we're hold up here after dark. Well, we've been quarantined inside since the virus hit, but we never go out after nightfall."

Since I didn't want to be dragged away by some beast and eaten, I decided that I'd go at first light. I still had the rest of the evening to go through the logs. There was no way I could sleep anyway. I did think it might be a good idea to put some clothes on since Stan was beginning to look at my ass.

I ran back to my quarters and re-dressed. I sent a quick message to McCoy telling him we were on to something big. I didn't have time to spell everything out because I needed to get back to the lab.

I was very tempted to go out anyway and collect the sample; I was that impatient, but I did have other things to look over. When I got back to the lab, Stan's head was resting on the table and he was fast asleep, leaving a pool of drool on his hands. I shook him and told him to go to bed. I had a night full of reading to do and he couldn't really do anything except fetch me stuff.

I ordered some coffee and dove in. The logs were fascinating, every area of the outpost covered in reports and videos. I had seen the videos before earlier, but I watched them closer knowing what I was looking for now.

By daylight I had covered over a thousand pages of log and watched the equivalent of six months' of the crew's lives. I had over two hundred pages of notes and my words were running together. It had been a very long night. I stretched in my chair and yawned. Looking at the clock on the wall, I decided I'd take a little nap. I wanted to be clear headed when I went outside.

The outpost was located on a distant moon of the planet OCH-17 (sexy name, huh?). It was one of the oldest outposts and at one time had been a mineral camp. That might explain the mutated virus. It was populated by feral animals left by the pioneers who settled the moon. The pioneers abandoned the moon when the minerals were depleted.

I settled into the cot I had put up in the corner of the lab. I stretched out and almost immediately fell asleep. I must have been snoring loudly because I woke myself up. I opened my eyes and right in front of me, not six inches away was the beautiful smiling face of Dr. McCoy. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me. I kissed him and he was kissing me back.

"Whoa," I heard a voice from behind him. Reluctantly I broke away and there stood the landing party: Captain Kirk, who had a bemused expression on his face and that red-headed bitch Marcella who looked absolutely murderous.

"So much for our little secret," McCoy said, as he kissed me again.


	12. Chapter 12 Just Call me Lucky

Chapter 12—Just Call Me Lucky

"Well, this is a surprise," Jim Kirk said. He was smiling, kind of smug-like, like he'd known all along. "Christine, you're looking, um, good."

I blushed a deep shade of red. "I thought I was dreaming," I confessed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well," Jim drawled slowly, "the good doctor rushed on to the bridge, apparently after your last message, and said you had found something and he needed to get down there and help you out. He wasn't very specific, but I said, 'what the heck, let's go'. Honestly I've never seen anybody move so fast."

McCoy had an exasperated look on his face. The captain ignored him.

"Now," Jim said wagging his finger at me, "I know why."

McCoy actually harrumphed. He crossed his arms over his chest. He was about to say something when I touch his chest.

"It's true," I said, struggling to get out of the cot; I tripped over the blanket. "I found something. It looks promising. Look." I dragged McCoy and the captain over to the computer. I ignored the red-headed, black root bitch. "See!"

McCoy looked at the screen and his eyes lit up. "Christine, this is wonderful Congratulations." He hugged me and I'll admit I got all weepy. He was proud of me.

"God-dammit," he said, "who would have possibly connected this with CDV? I mean, it's an impossibility."

"I know, right? Humans don't get infected with CDV. I mean, how long has been CDV been eradicated?"

"At least three millennia," McCoy answered.

"Let's pretend that I'm a star fleet captain who knows absolutely nothing about medicine," Jim said raising his hand like a boy in school.

I laughed, "Sorry, Captain. CDV stands for canine distemper virus. It's an ancient virus that only affected dogs."

"Dogs?" Kirk asked, incredulously. "Seriously?"

McCoy and I nodded together.

"How did you figure it out?"

I kind of shrugged and gave him the 'aw shucks, it were nothing' look. "The symptoms kept sounding so familiar to me and then it just clicked. While I was an intern, I actually studied ancient veterinarian diseases. Weird huh?

"Now the only thing I have to do is confirm where the virus came from. From what I understand, the virus manifested after the crew planted a garden outside the compound and ingested the vegetables."

"I thought it was airborne," McCoy said.

"So did everyone else, including me, but there was something nagging at me about that. Where did it come from? This outpost has been here for what three hundred years? And all of a sudden there's something in the air? That just didn't make sense to me." I shrugged.

"That's brilliant, Christine," McCoy said.

"Well, I was just waiting for daylight to go outside the compound and get a dirt sample."

Of course, Jim and McCoy insisted on going out of the compound with me; I told Stan to stand down. I really didn't think it was necessary, but to be this close to McCoy, I was in heaven.

We, meaning me, McCoy, Captain Kirk and the two security detail, donned our hazmat gear and walked outside in the morning air. The moon's air was breathable, but it was kind of thick and sickly sweet. One couldn't stay outside very long without getting a headache. We were breathing purified air so we didn't have to breathe the crappy stuff.

I had directions to the garden site. It was actually a few clicks away from the compound. I thought it would have been closer, but I'm sure the crew had a good reason for planting it so far away. I walked out to the edge of the garden and starting taking samples of the dirt in various locations; I also took samples of the vegetable plants. I saw an odd looking plant that could have been some variety of a kale and I wandered over away from the rest of the party to take a look. As I bent down to pull a sample, a heard a disturbing low grumbling sound on the edge of the tall bushes. Just as I was scrambling up with the full intentions of getting the hell out of there, something was on me, snarling and snapping at my suit. I managed a strangled cry before the creature's jaws had crunched down on my arm. It was the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt in my life. I screamed and the animal started to tear into me and drag me away. The next thing I knew there were bright lights hitting the beast from every direction and it lay still in my lap.

Not one of my finer moments, I'll admit, but I was crying like a baby as I scrambled from under the lifeless body. McCoy was at my side, bending over me in half a second, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. I was pretty much going into shock at his point, but I remember looking him straight in the eyes. _Oh, my God, what had I done?_

He waited until we were inside the compound before getting a good look at my mangled arm. It didn't hurt anymore, but it was starting to turn an ugly greenish oozy color and it was starting to swell. Dr. Benson had to literally push McCoy away from me to look at the wound. He nodded and gave me an injection which stopped the swelling immediately. He had to convince the McCoy that I was not going to keel over dead and that he had an antidote to the animal's venom. Actually it took less time to treat the wound than it took me to get it.

McCoy was ready to beam me back to the _Enterprise, _but I refused to budge. I had work to do and I was this close to finishing. I rested for four hours and then was back to work. McCoy insisted on helping me. Any excuse to spend time with him was worth it.

We tested the soil, the plants, and I was disappointed when I did not find hide nor hair of the CDV. Then I thought about the kale plant and decided what the hell. I took the only sample I had left of the plant and put it in the computer for analysis and waited. _Bingo!_

I rubbed my bum arm absently and noticed that McCoy was watching me and not the computer screen. I grinned at him and pointed to the screen. "It's there," I said, "in the indigenous plant. We got it, McCoy."

He looked at the screen and smiled broadly. "No," he said, "you've done it." He kissed my hand like the Southern gentleman he was. My arm hurt and I winced slightly.

"Now to the anti-virus," I said. I know we were on the right track. It was embarrassingly easy to come up with the anti-virus compared to the research involved with identifying a virus, actually the computer came up the anti-virus almost as soon as the information was fed into it. I felt odd taking credit for the process, but everyone around me seemed to think I was a genius. I didn't feel like a genius; I felt stupid for not seeing it before this and I certainly thought I was a moron for losing focus and getting attacked and putting the whole party in peril.

McCoy talked me into writing up my research for publication. I'd only had a few things published, and I wasn't sure this was something that I could write. I did credit Stan, which honestly I don't think he thought I'd do. He played his part and as annoying as he was during the whole process, he actually did some excellent work.

Using the anti-virus, we immunized the rest of the crew and left enough for replacements that the director had requested. Unbelievably we were ready to leave the outpost within four days. I didn't see much of Marcella until the last couple of days and then she didn't speak to me; she spoke to McCoy who found it very amusing. She helped with the immunizations and was one of the first to beam back to the _Enterprise._

I was fairly confident that she was informing the entire ship that McCoy and I were screwing and I had no doubt, broken the Captain's heart. I was also sure she'd tell whoever would listen that I had been screwing Stan and the security crew the whole time I'd been on the outpost. I knew that she wanted McCoy all to herself, and I suspected that's the only reason she'd volunteered was to get on McCoy's good side. I decided I wasn't going to worry about it until I got back. Honestly, my only concern was what my roommate Selene would say once she found out I had kept the secret from her. I was certain that she would be pissed.


	13. Chapter 13 Ruffles and Flourishes

Chapter 13-Ruffles and Flourishes

"You get hurt a lot," McCoy observed as he was checking out the bite marks on my arm. "The first time I talked to you a piece of equipment had fallen on your leg. What am I going to do with you?"

"You're going to keep the promise you made to me," I winced as he poked the bruised flesh.

"Which was?" I watched his eyes and the smile he was trying to hide.

"You know what I'm talking about, McCoy, don't play dumb with me."

He did grin then. "When have we had a chance to be alone?" He asked softly.

There were at least four other medical personnel in the room. We were back on the _Enterprise _and we hadn't had a moment to ourselves since we'd beamed back. The medical personnel were trying to look like they weren't listening to our every word. Of course Marcella had shot off her big mouth the moment she came back. I was still waiting on Selene to burst through the door and attack me physically. Maybe she was waiting until I went back to our room.

The captain wandered into sickbay. "There's our little hero," he said. "Kind of crowded in here, isn't it?" He looked at around at the number of people just milling around.

"They waiting for me to throw Christine down on a bed and ravish her," McCoy said irritably. He also said it very loudly so everyone who was standing around immediately tried to look busy.

Jim laughed. "I want tickets to that," he said.

"What do you want, Jim, I'm busy." McCoy was just as surly as he ever was.

"We're having a little soirée tonight with some big wigs from Star Fleet. Apparently Christine's being honored for her work in saving a planet."

"I didn't save anyone," I said. I jumped off the table.

"Don't argue," McCoy said. "God you're a pain in the ass."

I laughed. "Kiss me and I'll shut up," I said.

"You know I'm on duty," he said gruffly.

"Captain," I teased, "order him to kiss me."

Jim held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to piss off my chief medical officer. I know what he's like."

"Are you two finished?" he said.

"Yes, dear," I said. "Will you be my date tonight?"

He nodded absently at me.

I was finally released and returned happily to my quarters. My bed had never looked so good. I kicked off my shoes hopped up on my bed and sighed contentedly. I was just drifting off, when I heard a loud slamming sound. I opened my eyes and Selene stood right in front of me. I grinned and got up to give her a hug, but folded her arms as she leaned against the wall. She had a soured look on her face.

"Hello, bitch," she said.

I was completely taken off guard. What the hell what wrong with her? Before I had the chance to asked what the matter was, she stomped up to me.

"You want to tell me why I was the last to know?" she said genuinely hurt.

"Know what? Oh, you mean about me and McCoy?"

"Yes, I mean about you and McCoy. Christine, I had to hear this from Chekov." She stormed in and sat next to me. "I'm glad you're home, but I'm so pissed at you."

"Chekov?"

"Apparently I was the last person to find out. On the whole ship! I mean, seriously it's the coolest thing I've ever heard, but damn, Christine."

"I'm sorry Selene, but McCoy wanted our relationship to be a secret. He's funny like that. He had his reasons but I kind of outted us in front of the captain and that slut Marcella. She couldn't wait to get back to the ship and spill the beans."

"Still, Christine, I'm your hetero life mate. You could have trusted me." Her feelings really were hurt.

"Honey, I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I swear I'll never do anything like that, ever." I held out my arms for a hug and she hesitate for a split second, then hugged me.

"God, I missed you so much. Life has been hell on the ship. Now I know why Dr. McCoy was such a prick. He made grown men cry. I hope you give him a little sumpin-sumpin tonight, baby, because the man needs to get laid!"

I laughed so hard I thought I'd pee my pants. It was so good to be home. "I'm hoping to give him a lot of sumpin-sumpin, we've been around each other for days and haven't had any quiet alone time. I'm as frustrated as he is."

"You have got to tell me how he is in the sack. Oh my God, he has to be great, he so's intense." Selene closed her eyes and licked her lips deliciously.

"I will not," I said in a half serious, half ironic tone. "Besides, you should tell me all that's going on with you and Sulu."

She looked at me haughtily, "I don't kiss and tell," she said, but her smile broke through. "It's really, really _really_ good. We have a lot in common."

I gave her the raised eyebrow, _oh really_ look, but she brushed that off and I let it go.

"Well good luck with that. Are you going to the dinner tonight?" I asked.

She nodded. "All the officers are attending. Dress blues and shower shoes," she said standing at attention and saluting. "Aren't you excited? The swells from Star Fleet are coming here to give you a medal or something. I'm impressed."

I sighed heavily. "I wish they wouldn't."

"Come on, Christine, you did an amazing thing. You should be recognized. My God, you saved countless lives with your discovery of whatever it was."

I grinned. Bless her heart. But then I got serious. "I didn't save anyone's life. I wish I could have. People died because I wasn't fast enough to save them. If I get to take credit for the positive, I need to take responsibility for the negative as well."

"That's ridiculous and you know it. Those people were already infected and were going to die anyway. You saved the lives of people who aren't infected yet. Don't sell yourself short. You can't save the world, but you did save thousands." Selene hugged me.

I refused to talk about it. I was excited about discovering the virus but I wish I could have done more to save those poor crewmen. That was something I'd have to live with.

"So is McDreamy taking you to the dinner?" Selene asked.

I nodded. "And afterword, I hope we can get some 'us time'. Hopefully I won't be home tonight, so if you need some time with your Mr. Sulu, he won't have to skulk around like the cute little ninja he is."

She laughed. "He'd make a great ninja," she agreed.

The dinner was all ruffles and flourishes and too high brow for me. Dr. Andrew Livingston of the Star Fleet Medical Board and the whole freaking staff were there. The governor of Golanthan, Mr. Sonntag and Dr. Benson were also there. I waved to them and they waved back cheerily. Dr. Livingston got up and made the longest, most boring speech I had ever heard. I was embarrassed that I yawned a couple of times. I smiled vaguely and nodded when he said my name because I had no idea what he said. There was a spattering of polite applause and Captain Kirk called my name. I stood up and numbly walked toward the dignitaries.

Nervously I thanked everyone for the great honor. They put a very nice medal around my neck and I looked at McCoy who was on his feet cheering with the rest of them. I blushed, thanked them again and thought I was finished, but Governor _what's his name_ stood up and gave a short speech thanking the _Enterprise_ and the medical staff for their assistance and put another medal around my neck. I was completely embarrassed, but smiled. In truth, all I cared about was the look on McCoy's face.

Suddenly Dr. Livingston got back up and told the group that Star Fleet wanted to promote me and send me back to Earth to run their research division. McCoy and I looked at each other stunned. _They wanted me to leave the Enterprise?_


	14. Chapter 14 Have a brownie

Chapter 14--Have a brownie, it couldn't hurt

McCoy and I were still looking at each other when the applause died down and the dinner was over. Dr. Anderson walked up to me, shook my hand and said he needed to talk to me about the reassignment. Even Jim looked shocked. Where the hell did that come from?

"Congratulations, Christine," he said. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Uh, sir, I'm going to have to think about this," I stuttered. "This came completely out of the blue."

"Your talent's being wasted here. Star Fleet needs you."

"With all due respect," McCoy interrupted, "her talent is _not _being wasted. She's one of the best nurses I've ever had the good fortune to work with. I personally think her talent would be wasted in Star Fleet. She's a nurse, dammit, not a desk jockey."

I felt like crying. McCoy was going to fight for me. I wondered if I had a choice in the matter. Was this something I had to do because I was an officer in Star Fleet Command, or did I have a say?

"Christine, this is a promotion for you. You are a research scientist, not an ordinary nurse."

I stepped back. "Being a nurse is not ordinary, sir," I said. "I'm a healer, not a lab monkey. Xenobiotics is just a hobby with me, my heart is in nursing."

Dr. Anderson waved his hand dismissively. "I'll let you think about this overnight," he said. He turned to Captain Kirk and shook his hand. "Lovely evening, Captain, thank you for your hospitality. If your yeoman would be so kind as to direct my party to your guest quarters, we'll say good night."

"God, what an uppity prick," Selene said, siding up to me after the doctor had walked regally away "I was about to say what a lovely dinner, but damn! You're leaving? You can't leave!"

I was being rushed by well-wishers and I was getting separated from McCoy. Marcella was the first to run to my side. _The bitch._

"Christine, that's so wonderful," she cooed. "Who do I have a screw to get a promotion like that?"

I glared at her; steam was beginning to pour out of my ears. "You can fuck yourself," I said, and walked away.

Selene was too busy laughing her ass off and the rest of the room was kind of in a stunned silence.

I kept walking until I felt a tug on my arm. I turned and McCoy was at my side. I fell into his arms and he held me for the longest time.

"Come with me," he whispered and I held his hand as we made our way to the field officers' quarters. The first thing he did once we walked into his room was push me against the door and kiss the stuffing out of me. His lips were fierce, almost angry as they crushed mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and urged him closer.

"I don't think I can wait," he said, his breathing unsteady.

"Don't wait," I said, my hands now struggling to unbutton his jacket and trousers. "Too many buttons," I said, my lips at his throat.

His hands were all over me, tugging, ripping the buttons off my dress uniform. "Oops," I laughed as the buttons scattered. He flung aside my jacket and tore my blouse off me. He groaned as his hands massaged my bare breasts. His hands moved quickly to my skirt, where he pushed it up over my hips and shoved my panties down to my ankles and I stepped out of them as he picked me up, shoving me hard against the door as I wrapped my legs around him. He took me standing up leaning against the door. It was fast and hard and bit his shoulder hard as I struggled not to cry out with pure pleasure.

I felt absolutely weightless. We were lying together on his bed. Our clothes were strewn all over his room. He was holding on to me, and I felt his steady breathing. I needed to get up, but I hated to wake him, so I kind of shrugged my way out of the bed. He held me and I thought for a moment he was awake, but he was too still and this breathing was regular. I slipped out of the bed and ducked into the head.

When I returned McCoy was sitting up in bed; he held a glass of Scotch in his hand and he smiled when I came close to the bed.

"Christine," he said. "We really need to talk."

I shook my head. "No we don't. Let's just enjoy each other's company tonight." I crawled into bed next to him.

He offered me a class of Scotch, which I took eagerly. I downed the amber liquid in one gulp and held my breath as the liquid burned my throat. He took the empty glass away from me and began kissing me slowly. He nibbled my ear and I sighed contentedly.

The last thing I wanted to do was think about was tomorrow; I wanted to lose myself in his arms and the only future I wanted to wonder about was when he would make love to me again.

That question was answered rather quickly when he reached for me twice during the night. Our lovemaking was not hurried like the first time that evening. I could have spent the rest of my tomorrows in his arms.

There was another reason I didn't get much sleep that night. I kept thinking about the offer to return to earth and dedicate my life to research. I could save a lot of people, and it did mean a promotion. The promotion didn't mean much to me because I had a trust fund from my grandfather and I didn't really need much money on the ship.

I sat across from McCoy's bed and watched him sleep. His brow was furled like it was when he was awake. He was restless, tossing and turning, but he didn't snore. That surprised me a little bit. His body was incredible, he wasn't all bulky muscle, but there wasn't any fat on him either. I knew he went through a bad spell during his divorce and he drank a lot. He was flawed, but that made him more perfect to me.

I had a cup of coffee waiting for him when he woke up. I was still sitting in the chair, and I watched as he reached for my place in his bed. His eyes were still closed but he had a frown on his face. He opened his eyes and slowly smiled.

"Come here, woman," he said to me, "and bring me coffee."

I got up and handed him a cup. He patted the side of the bed. I slid in next to him. He was sitting up; he blew on the steaming liquid.

"Are you ready to talk now?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I think I am."

"I think you ought to take the assignment," he said.

I wasn't expecting that. Where the hell did that come from? My eyes welled up. "What? You want me to leave? Why? What did I do?"

"Calm down, Christine. I don't want you to leave, but I'm thinking of your best interest and my peace of mind. If you were safe back in Star Fleet you wouldn't have machine fall on you or you wouldn't get attacked by animals."

"Right. Like dying of boredom would be so much more desirable." I jumped out of the bed. "I have to go." I picked up my uniform off the floor and it was pretty much in shreds. "May I have a shirt, please?" I asked rather formally.

"Don't leave, Christine," he said.

"Make up your mind," I said. "You can't have it both ways. I can't walk out of here like this, I need a shirt."

"Come back to bed, Christine."

I shook my head. I found my skirt and put it on and then I pulled on my jacket; the buttons had been torn off, so I held it closed. I picked up the blouse and the two medals and rushed out of his room before he could stop me. I didn't care if people stared at me as I made my way back to my room. I know I looked a mess; my hair was frightful and I was definitely out of uniform. I didn't care.

The first person I ran (literally) into was Marcella. She was getting on the elevator as I was getting out. She gave me a soured look and rolled her eyes.

"Fun night?" she asked sarcastically.

"Piss off, bitch," I said as the elevator closed. I only wished I could have gotten a longer look at the expression on her face.

Selene was sitting at our dining table when I came in. She saw my expression and jumped up.

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" she asked angrily.

I threw what I had in my hands on the sofa and flopped down. "No," I said. "Yes, he wants me to go. He said the assignment would be good for his peace of mind."

"What? What did he say?"

"That I should like the job. Basically, he said some bullshit thing about being safe of something like that. Selene, I don't want to go. I love the _Enterprise._ I'm a nurse, I've never wanted to do anything else. What if I don't have a choice? Oh my God, I don't to resign my commission. Selene, what am I going to do?"

"Have a brownie," she said handing me a plate full of the chocolate treat, "we'll figure it out."


	15. Chapter 15 Painful Goodbyes

**A/N: Special thanks to Selene the Slytherin for her awesome contribution to this chapter.**

**--Rita**

Chapter 15--Painful Good-byes

"It's admirable that he wants to keep you safe, but if he wants you to be happy, he needs to realize that nursing, the _Enterprise_, and he are what makes you happy. If you take that research job, you would lose everything that makes your life mean something. And, I don't think he wants that for you," Selene said. "If you don't want to do it, don't let anyone talk you into doing it, not even McCoy or Starfleet. Would you rather resign your commission of your own free will or allow yourself to be forced into doing something like a trained animal?"

I nodded numbly to the words of great wisdom Selene was spouting. She was right, of course. I nodded again as I reached for my third brownie, but put it down. I dusted off my hands and sighed.

"I don't understand any of this. How can my life be blissfully happy one minute and a Greek tragedy the next? Maybe it's a good time to break it off with McCoy," I said. "It's not like I ever saw wedding bells in our future; I should quit while I'm ahead before I get my heart totally broken."

Selene eyed me suspiciously. "That sounds like a resignation to me, Christine. Have you made up your mind?"

I pursed my lips and then shook my head. "Nope. I appreciate your advice, Selene. Sincerely. I do love all those things you mentioned: the _Enterprise _and nursing. I love my life here aboard this ship. I joined Star Fleet for adventure and to do great things, and maybe it _is _time to move on." Shrugging, I took a bite out of the third brownie.

"Well, call me selfish, but I don't want to lose the best friend I ever had." Selene got all weepy; she seemed more emotional lately than I'd ever seen her.

I hugged her and went into my bedroom. The communicator was blinking. I punched it hard. "Chapel, here," I said.

There was a pause.

"Hello?" I said.

"I'm coming down there." It was McCoy. His voice was softer than I'd ever heard. It sounded like he was struggling with something.

I had no idea what I wanted to say to him. I didn't want to see him and then I needed to see him.

When I didn't say anything, the communicator disconnected. I sat on my bed and stared at it. I'd left him so confused and hurt that I honestly hadn't been able to get a handle of what I was feeling. His voice still gave me the same thrill it always did.

I got up and saw Selene still sitting at the table. She looked like she had been crying and I didn't think I could feel any worse than I already did.

"McCoy's on his way," I said.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'm not feeling right, I think I'm going to sick bay," she said cleaning off the table of the brownie crumbs and coffee cups. I helped her straighten up.

Before she headed out the door, Selene said, "I believe McCoy said what he said because he wants what's best for you. We all do."

I nodded. "I know, now all I have to do is figure out what's best for me." I hugged her again. "I hope you get to feeling better."

He was waiting at the door when Selene left. He stood aside as Selene passed. He nodded to her and walked inside.

"Why the hell do you do that?" he asked, irritably.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, defensively.

"Why the hell do you always run away?"

"I'm not, I don't, I don't know what you're…that's not true," I said, hedging a little.

McCoy crossed his arms across his chest and gave me a pointed look. "You know if you disagree with something I say, then all you have to do is _tell_ me, not run out the door. You know real adults have dialogue when they don't see eye to eye."

I must have been blushing because I felt the heat rise in my face. Why did he always have to be so _right?_ I did run away when things didn't go my way or when I felt I couldn't handle the reality. He was the very first one to call me on my bull shit.

I lowered my head, embarrassed. "I thought you were trying to brush me off," I said looking up in his eyes.

McCoy gave me a look that was so _him_ that I suppressed a smile. He pressed his lips together and furled his brow. "Dammit, Christine," he started, but he just shook his head. "You are such an idiot." He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I almost fell down, it felt so good.

He pulled away from me and brushed the hair out of my eyes, and then he kissed my forehead. My hands covered his; I knew he was going to walk away from me and that's the last thing I wanted.

"I'm not going to try to influence your decision whether you should go or stay. I'll support your decision, that 's all I wanted to say to you."

I nodded and allowed him to back away from me. He stood at my front door for the longest time before he turned around and walked out.

I was invited to dine with the captain and Dr. Anderson for lunch. I didn't especially want to go, but it would be bad protocol if I didn't. I knew Dr. Anderson would be expecting me to return to earth with him, and I honestly didn't know what I was going to do, so I decided to play it out naturally.

Lunch in the captain's quarters was not the intimate dining experience that Jim and I had shared earlier. His quarters were full of people, most of whom were from Star Fleet. Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, Chief Engineer Scott, Communications officer Uhura, and finally chief medical officer McCoy were the only ones representing the ship.

Captain Kirk greeted me warmly. He wasn't smiling his usual big smile for me, but he did smile a small one that managed to reach his eyes. McCoy stood by my side and in front of God, Dr. Anderson, and everyone else kissed me on my cheek.

I knew the communications officer, Uhura, mostly from the gym. We worked in opposite ends of the ship. She was very nice and a good sense of humor. Selene told me she and Commander Spock were dating, but I couldn't imagine that. She was so emotional and full of life, and there was Spock, who always looked peeved or bored to me.

Even Scotty wasn't his usual self. I had never seen the man not in a good mood unless he was fussing with the ship. He smiled at me raised his glass in a toast. I smiled at him and dipped my head in his salute.

In an air of authority Dr. Anderson regally wafted over me. I half expected him to give me his fingered ring to kiss.

"Ah, Christine," he said, "I'm so happy to see you." He smiled and actually bent down and kissed my cheek like he knew me. McCoy gave him a disapproving look and snorted. "Star Fleet sent your orders this morning," he began, "we've granted you a week's shore leave to visit your parents. They are ecstatic, of course. Richard was delighted that you'll be so close to home. I expect he'll meet you at the port."

McCoy and I looked at each other. "What?" I asked. "The orders are cut? I thought I had the option of declining your offer, sir. I didn't give you my answer."

Dr. Anderson straightened up. "I'm sorry, Christine, I thought you understood. This is a great honor for you."

"Yes, sir, and I understand, but just being considered is the greater honor. But I…" _Oh_ _shit, I'm about to embarrass myself and cry. _I bit my lower lip. I looked at the captain who was frowning. He shook his head slightly, and I understood. I was leaving the _Enterprise_ and I didn't have a choice in the matter.

The rest of lunch was just a fog. I vaguely heard Dr. Anderson say something about our leaving within the next four hours.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I don't really want this assignment. I'm really not interested."

He gave me an uppity look and smiled at me patronizingly. "This is a great honor, Lieutenant; Star Fleet needs you more than the _Enterprise_. You will be saving countless lives and I know you care about that." He waved me off dismissively.

The room was in sort of a stunned silence except for the Star Fleet team who were bantering about. I understood the difference between those who were part of headquarters and the swabbies in the field. Headquarters personnel always felt they were superior and the concerns of the masses weren't even a consideration. How could one not want to part of the important decision-making process?

I felt I was being dragged away to prison. I didn't honestly consider accepting the assignment, _not really_, but I had thought I had the option of saying yes or no.

"Captain Kirk, please," I said, my eyes glistening. "Can't you do something?"

"Don't worry, Christine, I'll do everything in my power." He said, glumly.

McCoy looked stoic and his expression was unreadable.

"I better go pack," I said. I sat my glass down and walked out of the captain's quarters. I blindly made it back to my room. Selene wasn't there; she must still be in sick bay. I was going to see her before I left. She wasn't going to be happy.

I was surprised how quickly my life was packed away in two duffle bags. Someone would pick them up later and take them to the shuttle port. I looked around my room for the last time. I sat down at the table and wrote a letter to Selene, trying to tell her in words what her friendship had meant to me.

I made my way to sick bay. She was still there laying down. The medics taking care of her waved at me. I wanted to give them all a big hug.

"Selene," I said. She opened her eyes. Actually she looked kind of green, but she sat up. "What's wrong with you?"

She shrugged. "Nothing really. Some bug, I guess. What's up with you?"

"I'm leaving in a couple of hours," I said. "I don't have a choice, apparently. They've sent my orders and I'm leaving with the Dr. Anderson entourage."

"Shit," was all she could say.

I nodded. "Yeah, that's what I said. Captain Kirk said he'd try to talk to someone, but I'm not optimistic about this one." I felt like crying again.

We hugged each other and held on. She promised to take her shore leave and visit. It would be hard to stay close. I wished her the best of luck with her Mr. Sulu. I expected to see her engaged within the next six months. She laughed at that. She leaned in real close. "Marcella's working this morning. You going to say good bye to her?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure she's planning my going away party for tomorrow morning," I said. Marcella walked out right on cue. She gave me a nasty look and turned on her heels to see about another patient.

I sat on the bed next to Selene and we chatted about how we could spend summers together and how we'd always keep in touch.

There was a very loud commotion outside and when the door were thrown open, McCoy, Kirk, and Scott came into sick bay and they were all yelling and talking at the same time. The medics stood at attention when Kirk came in, but he waved him on.

"Christine," Jim said. "Don't worry, we're working on a plan."

I started to feel a ray of hope and I wanted to let them know how much each of them meant to me. Tears were welling up in my eyes and all I wanted to do was grab all three of them and hug them and never let go.

"Thank you for everything," I said, beginning to sob. "I love you all. I know I have to go but I had to tell you this has been the greatest adventure of my life, and I will never forget any of you."

I looked at McCoy. "I would be honored to serve with you anywhere in the universe."

McCoy wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. "Write to me," he said.

I nodded. I knew at that moment if I didn't get out of there I never would. I kissed him again, hugged Scott, Kirk and Selene. I held on to her tighter. It was the saddest day of my life leaving my friends and the only man I would ever love.


	16. Chapter 16 Another Tour of Duty

Chapter 16—Another Tour of Duty

As long as I live, I will never forget the look on McCoy's face as I boarded the shuttle that was to rendezvous with another star ship that would be carrying me back to earth because it echoed my own. I felt my world was ending, and all I wanted to do was curl up in a big ball and cry.

My parents met me when we landed and Star Fleet graciously gave me a two week shore leave. The minute I hit terra firma I began writing to my friends and politicians begging Star Fleet to reconsider its decision. My parents were thrilled at having me home and hosted a welcome home and were so proud of our daughter party. I was thrilled that my article on the CDV was printed in the _New England Journal of Medicine _and the _Federation Science Journal_ ran an article about the virus and our research.

Mother was convinced the reason I was unhappy was because I didn't have a boyfriend, so she did everything she could to find me someone. She thought her type in men was my type, but the safe intellectual types she foisted upon me bored the shit out of me. They were too polite and condescending, and when I told her not to do that anymore, she stepped up the pace. Why did everyone think they knew what was good for me? They had absolutely no clue.

Once I got to work in Star Fleet Command, I realized that I was only there to drag out for dignitaries and the press. I was the ultimate dog and pony show. I was not given any responsibility and I wasn't _de facto_ in charge of anything, although the sign on my door insisted I was the Department Head. I had no idea what was going on and I didn't have anything in common with any of the people there. They were, in a word, boring.

The research department's idea of fun was playing an ancient game called, "Dungeons and Dragons". When I described Phaser Tag, they were appalled. Someone could have gotten hurt. What a bunch of R.E.M.F.s. What irritated me the most was that they made fun of the people on star ships. I believed it was because they were jealous of the action the real heroes of Star Fleet experienced.

The _Enterprise_ was in the news constantly. They had experienced real combat with rogue ships and they were headed out for another mission in Galaxy NGC628, which wasn't too far from earth, relatively speaking. I heard from Selene and she told me as soon as she got shore leave she was coming because she had something very important to tell me. I was so lonely for my friends that I craved any message from them or anything about the ship.

Friday night after work, I trudged my way back to my quarters. I was thinking about something I had heard about the _Enterprise_ and was anxious to write a message to Selene. I looked up and I did a double take, Selene was standing by my door ready to knock.

"Selene!" I yelled and ran down the hall to her. "I'm so glad to see you. You look wonderful." She had a glow about her. She grinned and grabbed me and we hugged, jumping up and down.

"Hope you have room for me, Christine. I'm on shore leave for a week. The captain gave me permission to buy my, uh…" She stopped in midsentence.

"I had to tell you in person, but I almost blew it. I have the most exciting news in the world. Hikaru and I are getting married!"

I almost fell on top of her. "That's incredible, Selene. I'm so happy for you." I felt the smallest stab of envy, but I was so happy for her, too. "When's the big day?"

"Well, we're hoping to get married during this shore leave, if you will be my maid of honor."

I literally jumped up and down and screamed. People were turning around and staring at us. I managed to get my door opened and pushed her inside. She threw her bag on the couch and dug through it, bringing out small package.

"I brought you some of my brownies," she said, handing her the wrapped package.

I tore into them like a starving woman. "Wonderful, I mumbled. "God, I've missed you."

Selene laughed, "My brownies, you mean."

"That, too." I toyed with a crumb. "How's everyone?"

She knew me well enough to know that my 'how's everyone' meant only one person. "He looks awful. He's not even surly anymore; he spends all day and most of the night in his office." She shrugged. "I never see him on the bridge anymore. You're like the 500 pound gorilla in the room; nobody talks about it."

"I don't expect life as we know it to cease because I'm not on the _Enterprise_," I sighed, "but I guess I'm feeling sorry for myself. I don't mean to." I offered coffee or wine to Selene and begged off both.

"I'm not supposed to drink coffee or alcohol," she said.

"No problem," I said dumbly. I stared at her. "Wait a minute. Selene, are you pregnant?"

She reddened then grinned and nodded. "I am. What do you think?"she asked shyly.

"Think it's wonderful!" I hugged her again. "Wow!"

"Yeah, that's why we're getting married so soon."

"How's Sulu taking it?" I asked.

Selene teared up. "Christine, he was so wonderful. I told him about the baby and I don't know what I expected. The first thing I said was that I didn't expect him to propose or do any of the dorky things, but he did! He actually got down on one knee in front of everyone. And he had a ring," she flashed her left hand. Wow, it was a traditional engagement ring, sapphire and diamonds, and it was beautiful. "He must have been planning to ask me before all this happened. Who'd have thought he was a romantic?" she asked dreamily looking down at her ring.

I hugged her and we both sat together crying. I was so happy for her. She got her man. I was sure they were a perfect match, too. He was patient when she was hysterical and loving when she thought she didn't need it at all. I knew they were going to be happy.

She dragged out pictures of wedding gowns and threw in a couple of maid of honor outfits she wanted for me. It was going to be a quick wedding, but it was going to be nice. She wanted to have the wedding before she, in her words, got big as a house. I asked her why she wasn't going to get married on the _Enterprise_, and she reddened and kind of shrugged. I would have thought she'd want to get married aboard. That would have been my dream wedding.

I told her all about the people in SFC and what a bunch of wusses they were. I also told her that I had spoken with the _capo di tutti capi _of Star Fleet and he was aware of my desire to return to action. I had hedged and said any star ship but I'd made it clear I wasn't happy and needed to serve on a star ship.

"I'm making Dr. Anderson's life a living hell. By the way, he's not such a big fish around here. There are several officers over him. I complain and bitch about everything thing. I'm just someone they drag out to appease the press.

"The so-called research I'm doing here is shit. A baboon could do it. I told them the real research is better done in the field. I've even lost interest in xenobiotics. I haven't read a journal since I've been here. I spend my weekends working in a medical clinic in town. I miss nursing so much." I teared up a little and wiped my eyes. "They are killing me here."

Selene patted my arm. "It's going to work out, Christine. Have faith, okay?"

I nodded and wiped my eyes again. "So, tell me about your next mission," I said.

Her eyes lit up again. "Sounds exciting, doesn't it? I can't talk about it, of course, but it looks like we'll be gone for at least a year. It's going to be dangerous. We get briefings all the time, but stuff changes from day to day."

We settled in after that and talked about everything. I was anxious to hear about my friends and the latest gossip. Apparently Marcella was still acting up. She made it no secret that she was glad I was gone. She'd said some horrible things about me, but people were beginning to get tired of her pettiness.

The captain was dating one of the officers from security. As far as Selene could see it was casual. James Kirk wasn't likely to lose his heart to any one woman. The crew had been so busy preparing for the next mission that there hadn't been a lot of free time.

Medical was understaffed and desperately needed a charge nurse. They had lost two corpsmen who decided not to re-enlist and McCoy was working everyone to the point of exhaustion. Selene said she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't lose some more because of the pressure and low morale. That broke my heart. I couldn't understand how that could happen.

"Christine, you brought everyone together. The charge nurses can't take McCoy's surliness like you did. The meaner he got the better you reacted. He's a hard taskmaster and frankly you were the only one who could calm him."

"Yes, well…" I started. "I'd still be there if I could."

We spent the rest of the evening gossiping and going through the tons of bridal books she'd brought with her. Sulu was coming in a couple of days for the wedding and she had to be ready. I wanted to take some time off to spend with her, but my boss wouldn't let me take the leave. I was so irritated that I was threatening to resign, but Selene said she understood. Great, because I didn't.

I wondered if any of the other members of the crew were taking shore leave, but Selene said she wasn't sure and let it go at that. Every time I asked her about it, she just shrugged. When I asked her who was coming to the wedding, she mumbled something about it being a small wedding with just us. I was disappointed that McCoy wouldn't be coming and I was sure she would have asked the captain to officiate. Sulu was friends little Chekov; I thought he'd be his best man, but from what I could tell, no one from the _Enterprise_ was coming.

The next Saturday, Sulu was due to arrive and Selene was so nervous and excited she wouldn't sit still. I wanted to give them some alone time, so I went to my office and pretended to work for the day. I ended up writing letters to everyone I knew and organized my desk. I read some scientific journals I needed to catch up on.

I was prepared to do whatever I could to help with the wedding, but it turned out I didn't have to do anything; literally. She got the license, arranged for the flowers, the chapel, booked the officiate, chose the music, and even bought my dress. All I had to do Sunday, apparently was show up. That's one of the many things I loved about Selene was her organizational skills. She chose the dress the first day she was here and had it delivered with my gown by Thursday evening. I tried my dress on once and it was whisked away from me; it would be ready in plenty of time. I couldn't even remember what the dress looked like, but Selene loved it and that was enough for me.

On Sunday morning, Selene and Sulu were busy with the last minute details. I asked her if there was anything she wanted me to do and she thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Just make sure you get there, I couldn't have my wedding without you. You can take her, right hon?" she asked Hikaru. He grinned and nodded. They were working on her bridal bouquet and he was as intense about the perfection of it as she was. They were a perfect pair. She wasn't shy or traditional about showing her gown to Sulu before the wedding. He even helped her get dressed. The dress was perfect, too and very traditional. It was knee length and had the traditional bow and buttons in the back. It had an empire waist and she wore the cutest pillbox hat with veil I had ever seen. She promised I wouldn't have to wear a hat, but she handed me a small bouquet of flowers I was to hold during the ceremony.

She looked at the clock and grimaced. "I have to go," she said holding her shoes and bouquet in her hands. "I'll meet you there. I have a couple of other things I have to arrange before the wedding starts." She kissed her fiancé and pointed at him. "Don't be late," she warned playfully, "I can't start this without you and my maid of honor."

He smiled lovingly, "I wouldn't miss this for the world," he said, kissing her again.

She was out the door before I could wish her good luck. Sulu and I looked at each other awkwardly. We didn't know each other very well. While I was in a state of panic, running around getting dressed he sat serenely meditating. I couldn't believe how freaking calm he was. Whatever drug he was on, I wanted some too. I was a nervous wreck.

"So, who's your best man?" I asked.

"What?" he asked, looking at me.

"Best man? You know? I figured you'd asked Chekov but since I haven't seen anyone running around here spouting Russian and trying to pick up teen aged girls, I didn't know."

Sulu's face reddened and I thought he was about to lose his cool façade. "Uh, uh," he kept saying.

Oh my God, I thought, he didn't have a best man for his wedding. As persnickety as Selene was, I was sure that would have been covered. Oh well it was too late now. We had to get to the chapel or we_ would_ miss the wedding.

Sulu arranged for transportation and we drove the short way to the chapel. It was beautiful. It was on a hill away from town and it was the perfect place to hold a wedding. I envied her so much that she had arranged the wedding in a week and it was going to prove to be perfect.

We walked into the chapel and we heard noises off to our right. The music was already playing and I was sure that we were already late. There was the officiate at the front but he was too far away to tell who or what he was.

As we headed down the aisle, Mr. Chekov popped out and came running to us, grinning. He was dressed so cute in civilian clothes. He looked just like an excited puppy.

I was totally confused. Didn't Sulu tell me he didn't have a best man? "What's going on? I said. "You said you didn't have a best man."

Sulu was grinning like an idiot. "No, I didn't tell you that. I didn't say I didn't have a best man." Chekov and he were smiling. "I was under strict orders not to tell you anything."

I looked at both of them blankly. What the hell was going on?

"Christine!" I turned and there he was. McCoy. He was coming up the aisle. I took off running and met him half way. He swept me into his arms and I was between laughing my head off and crying hysterically. I couldn't believe he was there. I looked around and there was Jim and Scotty who was wearing a very sexy kilt, and Selene beaming happily.

"You didn't think I could have a wedding without all my friends, did you?" she asked hugging me and McCoy tightly because I refused to let him go.

I couldn't stay still during the ceremony and I don't believe I heard a single word of it. I kept looking at McCoy to make sure he was there. We were both grinning at each other like idiots. I wanted to dump and the ceremony and just run away with him, but I was a good girl and played my part. I cried when they said "I do," and kissed as man and wife for the first time. It was wonderful. This had been a day.

Much later at the reception, Jim stood up to make the toast. He cleared his throat and brought out a piece of paper that I figured was his speech. I held on to McCoy's hand and leaned into him. I was about to let him go.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are here for a momentous occasion, not only have we witnessed the union of these officers, I am delighted to read the following." He cleared his throat again. "By order of Star Fleet Command, Commander Christine Chapel is hereby reassigned to the Star Ship _Enterprise._ Effective immediately._"_

I blinked a couple of times, not sure of what I heard. "What?" I asked dumbly. I looked at McCoy who was smiling broadly. He nodded. _It was true! _I was going back to the _Enterprise!_ I kissed McCoy, then I jumped up and ran to Jim where I threw my arms around him and took the piece of paper out of his hands.

"Welcome back, Christine," he said.

I ran back to McCoy who kissed me again. "Let's go home."

**A/N: I was almost sad to see this come to an end. I have enjoyed this story so much. Thanks for all your kind reviews and those who chose this as one of your favorite stories, THANK YOU!—Rita. PS—R.E.M.F. is a military term, it stands for Rear Echelon Mother Fucker (in case you didn't know). **


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